Crime reporting falls as public lose confidence in gardaí

Crime victims have become less likely to report incidents to An Garda Síochána , as they believe the force could not or would not act, according to new research.

The number of people who said they had experienced theft, fraud or assaults in the past year has nearly doubled since 2019, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) report shows.

However, a CSO household survey examining public perceptions and experience of criminality found a rising number are deciding not to report a large proportion of the crimes they experience.

The reporting of personal crime – thefts, fraud and assault – fell from 39 per cent in 2019, when the survey was last carried out, to 30 per cent last year.