Juveniles responsible for more burglaries, robberies and assaults in 2023, says Garda report

Irish Examiner

07-05-2025

Burglaries committed by juveniles soared by over 40% in 2023, figures show.
Garda statistics also reveal substantial increases in drink-driving, robbery, traffic offences and assaults by children aged between 12 and 17. In addition, there were significant rises in fraud and theft offences by minors and a smaller increase in sexual offences, which followed a huge increase in sex crimes the previous year.
The Garda Diversion Report for 2023 shows there was a slight (1%) increase in referrals to the Juvenile Diversion Programme in 2023, to 15,813. A third of these offences were carried out by children deemed 'unsuitable' for the programme – an increase of 10% on 2022.
It translates to around 1,200 children – accounting for 15% of all children referred, but 33% of all offences. These juveniles are referred back to their local garda station for prosecution in the criminal courts.
Children can be admitted to the programme – which diverts juveniles away from the criminal justice system - as long as they accept responsibility for their crimes and where admittance is in the best interest of society and the victim.
The figures show a significant increase in crimes against the person – from robbery (which includes either violence or threat of violence) to assault – as well as property crimes.
Two areas showing the greatest increases are burglary and related motoring offences – driving under the influence of drink/drugs and traffic offences, including dangerous driving.
A breakdown of the offences show:
Burglary offences jumped by 43%, from 450 to 643 (including 12 cases of aggravated burglary - involving violence or threat of violence);
Driving under the influence of drink/drugs rose by 18%, from 38 to 45;
Robbery offences increased by 9%, from 215 to 235;
Traffic offences rose by 8.5%, from 1,506 to 1,634 (including 390 cases of dangerous driving and 12 cases of dangerous driving causing death or serious bodily harm);
Assaults rose by 7%, from 1,486 to 1,588
Fraud/economic crime offences increased by 6%, from 358 to 379;
Theft offences rose by 5%, from 4,719 to 4,971 (with theft from shops accounting for almost 70% of incidents)
There were also increases in criminal damage (+4.5% to 1,396), sexual offences (+3%, to 452) and homicide offences (+1% to 87). There were significant decreases in drugs offences (-14.6%), weapons offences (-14%) and public order offences (-13%).
The report did state that a drugs working group had been established to 'identify and address causes of delays' for referrals for drug-related offences, which have dropped from 1,927 in 2021, to 1,881 in 2022 to 1,607 in 2023. The report noted a drop of 45% in the number of restorative justice cautions.
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