The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns is further evident in the latest Recorded Crime statistics. The number of criminal offences recorded by An Garda Síochána has fallen sharply in most crime categories in the year to Q1 2021.

The total number of recorded incidents in the year to March 2021 fell sharply in the categories of Burglary and related offences (down by 7,457, or 45.4%), Theft and related offences (down by 20,497, or 30.7%) and Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences (down by 609, or 26.4%), when compared with the corresponding period to Q1 2020. See Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1.

There were also notable decreases in the numbers of crime incidents classified as Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences (down by 2,953, or 13.9%), while Damage to property and to the environment fell by 11.4% and Public order and other social code offences fell by 11.2%.

The number of crime incidents classified as Fraud and related offences increased by 1,101, or 13.7% in the year to Q1 2021. There were also increases in the number of Controlled drug offences (+9.5%) and Weapons and explosives offences (+7.6%).

The number of homicide offences recorded fell by 14 in the year to Q1 2021 compared to a year earlier, including a decrease of eight in the combined figure for Murder and Manslaughter incidents. See Tables 1.1 and 3.1.

A total of 10,459 offences were recorded on PULSE for breaches of COVID-19 regulations in Q1 2021. This is a marked increase on 1,090 such offences recorded during 2020 (304 in Q2 2020, 262 in Q3 2020, 524 in Q4 2020), and reflects the introduction of a new system of Fixed Payment Notices (i.e. fines) in respect of breaches of COVID-19 regulations in December 2020. The figure includes unpaid fines and other offences, but does not include fines which were paid. The offences are not included in the statistical tables in this publication due to difficulties aligning them with the existing statistical classification.