The rate of murders and manslaughters in south Dublin and Limerick is almost three times the national average and south Dublin is also the Republic's burglary black spot, a new Central Statistics Office (CSO) analysis of crime trends reveals.
Overall the Republic's murder and manslaughter rate fell by more than a third in 2008, down to its lowest level for five years according to data published this morning.
The new study of Ireland's crime trends from 2004 to 2008 also reveals the Garda's detection rate - meaning a suspect is identified for a particular offence - has fallen for murder and manslaughter.
In 2008 there were 55 murders or manslaughters across the country, down 35 per cent on 2007, when 84 offences were recorded. The 2008 rate was the lowest since 2004, when 45 murders or manslaughters were committed.
However, while the trends are down, the rate at which suspects are being identified by the subsequent Garda investigations has also fallen.
In 2004 there were 9,868 drugs offences recorded. This increased to 23,405 in 2008, as jump of almost 250 per cent. Detection rates for drugs offences were 99 per cent in 2008.
That means in all but one per cent of cases the Garda knew the identity of the people involved in the crime. There was also a 99 per cent detection rate in 2008 for dangerous and negligent acts and road traffic offences.
While this very high, the number of suspects brought before the courts and convicted would be much lower. The CSO does not record the rates of convictions for various crimes. Compiling such statistics can be very difficult because criminal cases can take years to come before the courts.
For example, of the murders committed in 2008 and where criminal charges have been brought, only a fraction would have been dealt with by the courts by now. The remainder are still pending.
This means the number of murders in 2008 resulting in a conviction to date would be small. But that figure will significantly rise in the coming years as the cases work their way through the courts.
It means the Garda's success in securing convictions for particular crimes in a particular year can only be truly measured around three or four years later.
Aside from the 99 per cent detection rate for drugs road traffic offences, the detection rates for other crimes were considerably lower in 2008.
The figures also reveal very significant growth in the illegal drugs trade in the period under review. In 2004 there were 9,868 drugs offences recorded. This increased to 23,405 in 2008, as jump of almost 150 per cent. Detection rates for drugs offences were 99 per cent in 2008.
That means in all but one per cent of cases the Garda knew the identity of the people involved in the crime. There was also a 99 per cent detection rate in 2008 for dangerous and negligent acts and road traffic offences.
The detection rates for other crimes were considerably lower in 2008.
For example, in only 22 per cent of cases of damage to property and damage to the environment did gardai identify a suspect for the crimes.
When it came to burglaries, just 26 per cent were detected, indicating that gardai did not know who was responsible for three quarters of all burglaries carried out in the State in 2008.
However, despite that low figure, detection rates for burglary have actually improved in recent years. They were as low as 17 per cent in 2004.
Similarly, detection rates for robbery, extortion and hijacking offences have increased, from 37 per cent in 2004 to 50 per cent in 2008.
The Garda's Limerick division had the highest rate of homicide offences - manslaughters, murders and infanticides - per head of population, at 3.5 offences per 100,000 people in 2008.
The Garda's south central division in Dublin was only marginally lower, with 3.4 offences per 100,000 people in 2008. The State average in that year was 1.2 offences per 100,000.
The Garda's south central division also had the highest number of burglaries in the State in 2008, at 1,335 per 100,000 persons. The national average was 541 burglaries per 100,000 people.
The highest rate per capita in 2008 for drink driving was recorded in the Garda's Cavan-Monaghan division, at 736 offences per 100,000 people. The lowest rate was in the Garda's Dublin eastern division, at 183 offences per 100,000 people.
The national average for drink driving in 2008 was 406 offences per 100,000 people.
