Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 433: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of assaults and burglaries committed in the Carlow and Kildare division over the past five years; the number of successful prosecutions arising from these crimes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18355/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that the attached tables show the total number of headline offences of assault and burglary by group, recorded, detected and convictions for the Garda Division of Carlow/Kildare for the years 2000 to 2005 inclusive. These figures are operational and liable to change.

The introduction of the PULSE computer system by the Garda Síochána in 1999 has led to more complete and comprehensive recording of crimes reported than was previously the case. The figures provided for 2000 and 2001 are incomplete due to the phased implementation of PULSE. The first full year captured is 2002 and is a more accurate base year to use.

It should be borne in mind that any interpretation of the crime figures should factor in the increase in our population in the past ten years. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In 2005, with a population of over 4.1 million, there were 24.6 crimes per 1,000 of the population, a reduction of 4.4 crimes per 1,000 of the population. To put this in context, during the two full years of the Rainbow Coalition Government, with a population of 600,000 less than at present, the headline crime figures were as follows; 1995-102,484; 1996-100,785.