Cork city sees 23% rise in thefts with overall crime up 13%

There was a 23% rise in thefts in Cork city in the second quarter of this year, when compared with the first quarter, while the overall crime rate in the city has jumped by 13%, new data shows.

According to CSO figures, theft accounted for the highest portion of crimes reported in the city in April, May, and June — with a total of 1,239 reported incidents, up from 1,009 in the previous three months, January to March.

After theft, the most common crimes in Cork city were public order offences, followed by attempts or threats to murder, then followed by assaults, harassments, and related offences, which saw a rise from 329 to 370 incidents.

A local Fine Gael councillor and barrister has described the figures as “quite worrying”, and said the city needs more gardaí.

Fine Gael councillor for the Cork South Central ward, Shane O’Callaghan, told The Echo: “These are quite worrying figures. While some crime is down, a lot of serious crime is up.

“The figures show that Cork urgently needs more gardaí. More garda resources, but mostly just more numbers on the ground, on the beat.”

He said the statistics of reported crimes only tell part of the story.

Mr O’Callaghan said: “I’d also be interested in finding out what is the prosecution rate for those statistics. How many people were charged, how many were convicted or found guilty, how many had custodial sentences as a result and how many remain unsolved.”

If repeat offenders go to trial but are let off without a custodial sentence, it is very frustrating for both gardaí and the victims, he said. “It’s no secret that there’s a shortage of prison spaces at the moment, and as a result, prisoners are let out early even if they do get custodial sentences,” he said, echoing calls for a large new prison to be built, ideally at Thornton Hall.

Mr O’Callaghan said though the most commonly reported crimes — theft and public order offences — were the type which were often seen in the city centre, they cover a wide range of crimes.

He said: “Public order offence encompasses a lot of different events, including violent disorder, which is quite a serious offence and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

“There’s also being intoxicated in a public place and other relatively minor summary offences.”

The report did contain some good news, too. In Cork city, there were no murders recorded in the second quarter, and burglary was down from 70 reported incidents to 66.

Reports of controlled drug offences also dropped, from 193 to 159, and offences recorded under the headings of “against government”, “justice procedures”, and “organisation of crime” fell from 133 to 104.

However, reports of sexual offences were up from 46 to 57; dangerous or negligent acts increased from 67 to 82, kidnappings doubled from one to two; robbery, extortion, and hijacking increased from 19 to 20; crimes involving weapons and explosives rose from 44 to 49; and damage to property and to the environment offences were also up, from 246 to 276.

Each Garda division in the Cork area saw an increase in overall crime — from 2,610 to 2,845 reported incidents in the city, from 884 to 1,078 in Cork North, and from 378 to 470 in Cork West.

This represents a 9% increase in crime in those three months in Cork city, but even larger increases in the other two divisions — 22% in Cork North and 24% in Cork West.

Similar to the city, both county divisions also saw sharp increases in the instances of theft.