NCJ Number
133867
Date Published
1980
Length
167 pages
Annotation
There is widespread agreement that crime in Ireland has become more frequent and more costly over the past two decades, and this study evaluates available statistical evidence on trends in the level and pattern of crime in Ireland between 1951 and 1975.
Abstract
Crime statistics collected by Ireland's Garda Siochana offer detailed and reliable evidence on the offenses of housebreaking, shopbreaking, larceny of motor vehicles, robbery, receiving stolen property, assault, and homicide. To evaluate trends associated with the frequency and gravity of crime between 1951 and 1975, the annual number of recorded offenses and the average value of stolen property were assembled in sequence. There were five times as many recorded shopbreakings, six times as many housebreakings, and 29 times as many robberies in 1975 as had been recorded in 1951. Motor vehicle larceny increased 27 times over the period. A substantial increase was also registered for offenses against persons; the number of indictable assaults rose seven-fold over the 25 years, a trend similar to that found for homicide. By the 1970's, a clear urban focus for homicide had emerged. The strongest support for a connection between structural perspectives and crime was found for offenses in which the amount and distribution of property at risk changed most dramatically over the period. Crime trends generally supported the study's assertion that recent changes in the level and pattern of crime in Ireland can be understood as responses to specific social structural changes that originated around 1960. 121 references, 26 tables, and 15 figures