Number of crimes reported to gardaí down compared to last year

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There's been a big drop in the number of crimes reported to the guards. 

Nearly half of all stations saw reduced crime rates compared to the same time five years ago. 

Crime in the first three months of the year is down - with theft from a person, interference with a vehicle, and riots and violent disorder among those seeing the biggest drops. 

The garda figures show Dublin saw notable drops in theft-related offences, with the exception of theft shop, which rose by 2%.

However, there's been a huge increase in the number of fraud cases - which the guards say is down to a delay in processing referrals from banks. 

A garda spokesperson said; "At the end of 2024 An Garda Síochána highlighted that there was likely to be an increase in volume for crime statistics under the Fraud, Deception and Related Offences category as the high volume of section 19 referrals are processed."

On the roads, more than 70 thousand people have been issued Fixed Charge Penalty Notices - with almost 32 thousand caught by speeding vans.