Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I thank the House for affording me the opportunity to speak on the subject of crime. Senators may be aware that, in reply to a parliamentary question last month, I undertook to publish provisional crime figures for 2002 as soon as possible, pending the publication of fully validated statistics by the Garda authorities in the commissioner's annual report for 2002. This mirrors a similar undertaking in respect of the 2001 figures because legislators, policy-makers and the general public are entitled to be informed of trends in key quality of life indicators as soon as possible. Crime is one such indicator.

I am now in a position to make available the provisional headline crime statistics for 2002. However, by way of caveat, I reiterate that these statistics are still undergoing a validation process within the Garda organisation and should not be regarded as the definitive word on the matter. Notwithstanding this, I do not expect the validated figures to differ significantly from these provisional data. I will place a copy of the figures, with the Garda Commissioner's covering report, in the Oireachtas Library today. I will make no bones about it – the news is not good.

In 2002 total headline crime, which corresponds in large measure to what was called total indictable crime, increased by 22.2% on 2001 bringing the total number of headline offences to 105,840. The overall upward trend was not reflected in the figures for murder, of which some 51 cases were recorded in 2002, a decrease of one on the figure for 2001. However, assaults have increased by just under 50% while the figures for sexual offences show an increase of approximately 62%. Sexual assaults, the largest group of offences in this category, rose by more than 50% while the figures for rape increased by approximately 25%.

Larcenies, the largest single group of offences, also increased by 25%. The main types of crime in this category are theft, theft from a shop and theft from a vehicle. Burglary crimes, on the other hand, increased by a little more than 6%, and robbery offences – larceny involving violence or the threat of violence – by just 2%. Fraud related crime increased by 22% and offences recorded under a miscellaneous heading by approximately 65%. These include offences such as those under child pornography legislation as well as dangerous driving causing death, child neglect and cruelty and firearm offences. These figures are a matter of great concern. They demand a firm, comprehensive and coherent strategy for dealing with crime.