Major Drop in Property Crime Across Ireland as Fraud Offences Surge

New Garda statistics reveal significant reductions in burglary, theft and violent crime during the first half of 2025, though fraud offences have increased by 73 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The provisional crime figures, released today by An Garda Síochána, show Ireland maintaining its position as the second most peaceful country in the world according to the 2025 Global Peace Index, with property crime continuing a sustained downward trend across nearly all categories.

Aggravated burglary dropped by 25 per cent nationally, whilst residential burglary fell by 13 per cent. The Southern Region, which includes Cork, recorded particularly impressive reductions with burglary down 33 per cent. These figures mean Ireland now experiences an average of just 14 residential burglaries per day across all 26 counties, or less than one per county daily.

Operation Thor, the multi-strand Garda initiative targeting organised burglary gangs, has proven remarkably effective since its introduction in 2015. Winter burglaries during the October to March period have dropped by 75 per cent over the past decade, demonstrating the success of coordinated crime prevention and enforcement activities.

The statistics paint a picture of declining street crime, with robbery from the person down 24 per cent and theft from person dropping by the same margin. Dublin saw nearly 500 fewer incidents of theft from person, whilst theft from vehicles decreased significantly across all Garda regions.

However, fraud and economic crime continues to surge, with a 73 per cent increase in reported cases. Forgery and false instruments jumped by 200 per cent, whilst deception-related fraud rose by 178 per cent. Shopping and online auction fraud increased by 166 per cent, reflecting the growing challenge of cybercrime. Gardaí noted that processing of high-volume section 19 referrals likely contributed to these increased figures.

Sexual offences showed a slight increase, with rape up 4 per cent and sexual assault rising 7 per cent. However, offences related to child sexual abuse material decreased by 16 per cent. Domestic abuse contacts remained steady at over 32,100 for the first half of the year.

Road safety figures offer encouraging news for Cork motorists who regularly navigate the N40 and M8. Traffic collision fatalities stood at 82 for the first six months, down three from 2024, whilst serious injury collisions decreased by 17 per cent. Despite this improvement, Ireland still experiences over 120 road traffic collisions daily.

Drug-related enforcement remains robust under Operation Tara, with the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau seizing illicit drugs worth over €82 million and €1.25 million in cash during the first half of 2025. The Dublin Crime Response Team seized an additional €17.5 million worth of drugs.

Public order offences increased slightly by 8 per cent, though demonstrations decreased by 8 per cent compared to last year. Criminal damage fell by 14 per cent, although arson incidents rose by 20 per cent.

The Central Statistics Office data reveals that Ireland has recorded a 7 per cent reduction in crime since 2019 despite a 9.3 per cent population increase, with crime levels significantly lower than the 2008 peak despite a 37 per cent population growth since 2002.

These provisional figures, whilst subject to change, suggest that Ireland's approach to crime prevention and detection continues to deliver results, particularly in tackling organised property crime that has traditionally plagued communities during winter months.