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Thursday, 28 Apr 2022 13:29
Provisional crime figures released to RTÉ News show no noticeable difference in the number of assaults recorded in Dublin city between the end of 2021 and the start of 2022.
Figures released by An Garda SÃochána show 1,465 incidents of assault were reported in the Dublin Metropolitan Region in the first quarter of this year.
This compares with 1,493 in the last quarter of 2021, according to figures released under reservation by the CSO.
The number of assaults recorded from 1 January to 31 March this year is up on the same period of 2021, when 1,173 incidents of assaults were recorded, however Ireland was in a Level 5 Covid-19 lockdown during at the time.
The number of assaults recorded in the capital increased every quarter last year as restrictions eased, from 1,173 in Q1 to 1,493 in Q4.
A garda spokesperson said "it should be noted in making comparisons with previous years, that Covid-19 impact has had a significant impact on crime trends in 2020 and 2021, particularly in terms of public order incidents, when movement restrictions were imposed and in particular the night time economy was closed for long periods."
In 2019, pre-pandemic, 1,561 assaults were recorded in the first quarter, almost 100 more than have been recorded in the same period this year.
According to gardaÃ, approximately 15% of assault suspects identified in the first quarter of this year were aged under 21.
Yesterday, Fianna Fáil TD Jim O'Callaghan told the Dáil that there had been a "dangerous level of unprovoked and gratuitous violence" in the city currently, and spoke of gangs of youths targeting woman and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland, who chairs the Dublin City High Level Street Issues Group, has requested a briefing from Assistant Garda Commissioner Dublin Region Anne Marie Cagney.
Ms Gilliland said that the last meeting of the group had heard that there had been a "small rise" in anti-social behaviour in the city, but that this had been in line with what was expected after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.