Written answers

Thursday, 7 December 2006

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

Crime Levels

7:00 pm

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 88: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the extent to which there has been a re-classification for the various forms of crime which has removed certain crimes previously regarded as serious crimes from the relevant category; if this has given an erroneous impression of a reduction in serious crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42212/06]

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that the ten crime classifications used to show the more serious crimes (headline offences) were first introduced in the Garda Síochána Annual Report of 2000.

The Deputy will be aware that, with respect to the year 2000, the Garda Síochána changed the system of crime presentation as part of the PULSE information technology project. Specifically, the changeover to the PULSE platform allowed the Gardaí to reorganise its crime classification system, so that it more accurately reflects the complex, modern criminal activities reported or known to the Garda Síochána.

The previous crime classifications and sub-categorisations, based essentially on the distinction between indictable and non-indictable offences, were many decades old and were becoming increasingly unsuitable.

PULSE proved a considerable improvement in this respect, and the new classification of headline offences contains ten sub-divisions which offer a comprehensive description of modern criminal activity in a much more readily understandable form.

Classification changes, to reflect the introduction of new legislation, were made in 2002. Changes included the introduction of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 which required a minor change to Group 6 Larcenies, by changing the name of the offences from Larceny to Theft Offences.

The introduction of this Act required greater change to Group 9, Fraud where the offences of Embezzlement and False Pretences were repealed by the Act of 2001. Four new classifications were created to replace the Falsification of Accounts/Companies Offences. Three new offences, European Communities Fraud, Counterfeiting Notes and Coins, and Possession of Article (Fraud), were included in Group 9, Fraud.

Coinage offences were removed from Group 10, Other Headline Offences, but replaced with a new classification, Counterfeiting Notes and Coins, in Group 9, Fraud.

The removal of Coinage Offences had no statistical impact as no offences had been recorded since the introduction of the new headline groups in 2000.

In 2003 a new crime classification, Criminal Assets Bureau Offences, was added to Group 9, Fraud.

In 2005 two new headline offences were added. Sexual Offenders Act Offences were added to Group 3, Sexual Offences and Employer Permit (Employer) Offences were added to Group 10, Other Headline Offences.

Reclassification of crime is due, primarily, to the introduction of new legislation which creates new offences or repeals old ones. Any changes to the crime classifications are identified in the Garda Síochána Annual Report of the relevant year.

Following the submission to me in 2004 of a report and recommendations by an expert group on crime statistics, I decided that the compilation, production and publication of crime statistics should be taken over by the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency, from the Garda Síochána. The Garda Síochána Act, 2005 consequently makes provision for this and the CSO established a dedicated Unit for this purpose.

The CSO published the reported crime statistics for the third quarter of 2006 on 27 October, 2006 marking the formal transfer for the published crime statistics from the Gardaí to the CSO. The figures released by the CSO did not involve any change in the methodology from that used by the Garda authorities in the production of quarterly headline crime statistics.

The CSO has established an Advisory Group to assist it in the development of crime and criminal justice statistics. One of the first tasks of the Advisory Group will be to review current methodology and to make recommendations for the development and presentation of crime statistics. In particular it will involve examination of:

the distinction between headline and non-headline offences;

the impact of the counting rules used where there are multiple offences involved in the one crime incident; and

the development of a new robust classification of offences/incidents to be used in the future.

This review, which is to be informed by best practice in other countries, will better align crime statistics with public and specialist user needs. This element of the work of the Group should be completed in the first half of 2007.

The CSO is also preparing to develop a more integrated and comprehensive system of crime statistics on crime and victimisation. This will include offences which do not necessarily come to the attention of the Gardaí as well as offences that are often under reported to the Gardaí.

Finally, the CSO is giving consideration to the development of statistics on the wider criminal justice system to include the courts, prisons and probation services.

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