CSO reveals over one in six reported crimes not recorded by guard

DUBLIN, Ireland - Two reports recently released Central Statistics Office (CSO) report reveals some shocking figures regarding the functioning of gardai and the system of recording crimes in the country. 

One of the report is said to have pointed out that over one in six crimes, or 16 percent of reported crimes in 2015 went unrecorded as they did not show up on the garda PULSE computer system. In certain areas, the number shot up to 17 percent. 

CSO’s Tim Linehan confirmed in a statement, “Around 17 percent of crime reported to An Garda Siochana in 2015 was not recorded on Pulse.”

Linehan said that last year, 20 percent or one in five reported crimes were not recorded in the system. 

It further pointed out that about one third of the cases, the gardai even downgraded serious crimes without any justification. The report found that the downgrading happened in incidents of reclassified serious crime in seven categories including assault, burglary and robbery.

According to the report, 37 percent of crimes that were marked as detected did not have either charges or summons attached. 

In addition, 18 percent of those were erroneously marked as detected. If these numbers are removed, garda’s detection rate reduces - with the crime that they actually solved summing up to a mere 10 percent. 

The CSO is said to have pointed out that in garda stations where matching paper records were not maintained, it was “ultimately impossible to measure” how much crime was not being properly recorded.

Linehan said, “The CSO is continuing to work with An Garda Siochana to improve the reliability of the data and will continue this analysis at regular intervals to monitor data quality.”

Alternatively a CSO quarterly crime report showed that there was a significant drop in thefts and burglaries in the country. 

It also pointed ut that gangland offences like drugs, gun offences and even murders had recorded a significant drop in the second quarter of 2016.

For the 12 month period to the end of June, murders and manslaughters dropped by 33 killings, while sexual offences rose by 13 percent incudling rape recording a 12 percent rise and sexual assault increasing by 6 percent.

While kidnapping and related offences increased by 3 percent, robbery, extortion and hijackings fell by 11 percent and theft and related offences recorded a downward trend, falling by 26 percent.

Weapons and explosives offences dropped by 12 percent, public order crimes too fell by 5 percent, while drug crimes remained unchanged.