Number of serious crimes in Ireland fell last year but sexual offences on the rise

A number of serious crimes and offences fell across Ireland last year, however sexual offences and weapons and explosive offences jumped.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office detail the recorded crime incidents nationwide.

They show the number of sexual offences increased by 8% over the year.

The figures also show there were 38 murders in 2024, an increase of three compared to the previous year.

There was also an increase in the number of reported rapes, up 25 from 2023 to 964.

The number of recorded crime incidents involving homicide and related offences fell by 13% to 77 incidents in 2024 when compared with 2023.

Recorded incidents of robbery, extortion and hijacking offences were down by 10%, or 265, to 2,353 over the year.

The increase of 182 incidents, or 2%, over the year in the number of recorded incidents of burglary and related offences was driven by a rise of 151 incidents, or 2%, in the number of incidents of burglary where there was no aggravation.

The number of incidents involving controlled drug offences was also down over the year, falling by 7% to 16,119 in 2024.

This drop was driven largely by decreases in crime incidents involving possession of drugs for sale or supply or for personal use.

Decreases in the number of recorded crime incidents in some other offence categories were also noted last year, including offences against government, justice procedures and organisation of crime, which dropped by 7%.

The percentage of damage to property and to the environment fell by 2% and dangerous or negligent acts dropped by 2%.

Other offences including theft and related offences increased by 3%, while attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassment and related offences rose by 3%.

An increase in incidents of theft from shops, which rose by 1,988 incidents, accounted for nearly eight out every 10 of the overall increase of 2,547, or 3%, in the number of incidents of theft and related offences in 2024 compared with 2023.

Overall in 2024, just over four in every 10 incidents of theft offences related to theft from shops.

Victims of attempted murder and threats to murder, harassment and related offences rose by 2% to 5,809 victims in 2024 when compared with 2023.

Some 59% of victims were men in 2024 compared with 41% who were female victims.

The number of male victims rose by 4% to 3,438 and the number of women victims remained virtually unchanged at 2,371.

Assessing the age profile of male victims, the results show the number who were under 18 when the incident occurred rose by 15% over the period and victims aged 18 to 29 increased by 10%.

The number of victims aged 30 to 44 fell by 3%, while those aged 45 to 59 rose 6%.

The number of victims aged 60 or more fell by 10%.

A somewhat different picture emerged for women, where there was a decrease in the number of victims aged between 30 and 59, which fell by 3%.

However, the number of female victims who were aged 60 or more at the time of the incident rose by 21% over the year. There was little or no change in the number of victims aged 29 or less.

The percentage breakdown for both male and female victims by age group remained relatively stable between both quarters.