CSO figures show 10% drop in crime rate last year

Galway City Tribune – More than 2,500 burglary and theft offences were recorded in the Galway Garda Division in 2018, according to the Central Statistics Office database.

In total, the database has recorded more than 7,600 crimes in the division last year, down almost 10% from the 8,487 a year earlier.

An analysis of the statistics by the Galway City Tribune shows that by far, the most common offences for Gardaí to deal with in the Galway area last year were theft and burglary, with 2,579 recorded.

But Gardaí also had to deal with very serious crime, including a murder, 128 rapes and sexual assault reports (up from 122 the previous year); 40 murder threats (up from 31); 71 weapons and explosives offences (down from 77); 48 robbery, extortion or car-jacking offences (up from 46) and 36 arson (up from 24).

The statistics also show that last year, there were 439 cases recorded as ‘offences while in custody and breaches of court orders’, which was down from 443 the previous year.

There were also significant drugs cases – 147 for sale or supply (down from 148 the previous year) and 407 for personal use (up more than 36% from 298 for personal use.
This is a preview only. To read the rest of this article including a chart comparing crime types from 2017-18, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week’s paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.