Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in the compilation of crime statistics, there has been a re-definition of headline crime resulting in the removal of a number of serious crimes from that category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15913/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Reclassification of criminal offences in the crime statistics is, in general, due to new legislation which creates new offences or repeals existing ones. I am informed by the Garda authorities that the ten offence groups used to show headline offences were first introduced in the Garda Síochána annual report of 2000 in conjunction with the introduction of the PULSE system. The changes to the classifications which have been made are set out below.

Changes to reflect the introduction of new legislation were made in 2002. This included the introduction of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 which required a minor change to group 6 — change of name to thefts — and a major change to group 9 — frauds. In group 9 the offences of embezzlement and false pretences were removed having been abolished. Three new offences, European Communities fraud, counterfeiting notes and coins and possession of an article — fraud — were included. In addition coinage offences were removed from group 10 and replaced by the new classification in group 9 of counterfeiting notes and coins.

In 2003 a new crime classification, Criminal Assets Bureau offences, was added to group 9. In 2005 two new headline offences were added, Sex Offenders Act 2001 offences to group 3 — sexual offences — and employer permit offences to group 10 — other headline offences. All changes made to crime classification are identified in the Garda Síochána annual report of the appropriate year.