Latest Burglary Report

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has released official burglary rates for 2023 outlining that 9,545 incidents occurred, which is up 1% compared to 2022. This is the second yearly increase in burglaries. 

Overall, 15 of the 28 Gardaí divisions experienced an unwanted increase in burglary rates, 11 reassuringly had decreases and 2 divisions had unchanged results compared to 2022. The Gardaí divisions with the highest yearly burglary increase are the Roscommon and Longford Gardaí division increasing by 41% with 218 incidents combined, Clare Gardaí division had a 30% increase with 201 burglaries and Mayo Gardaí division and the combined Sligo and Leitrim division by 26% with 176 and 144 incidents, respectively. 

The report did highlight positive trends for some Gardaí divisions with Kerry citing the highest rate of decrease in burglaries at -21% with 134 burglaries and Wicklow experienced a 20% decrease with 237 incidents. 

Read report in full here.

Data published over the past 10 years by the Central Statistics Office reveals that on average 1 in every 10 homes in Ireland has experienced a burglary in that period, with a total of 182,609 burglaries reported.

PhoneWatch has once again published their annual burglary report which outlines their research into burglary patterns over the past ten years. For the report, they looked at 10 years’ worth of CSO Burglary stats along with their own data from their Dublin based Alarm Receiving Centre and some consumer research conducted through Bounce Insights.

Data from the Phonewatch Alarm Receiving Centre shows that those with a monitored home alarm are over 4 times less likely to be burgled!

3 out of 4 (72%) Irish homeowners are concerned about a break-in in their homes, with over a third (39%) feeling worried when home alone. The time of year has a huge impact on how safe people feel, with over half (58%) feeling least protected throughout the winter months and 64% feeling particularly unsafe at night-time. PhoneWatch urges all homeowners to take the necessary preventative measures and continue to protect their homes and their cherished items inside.

Although 80% of people have never had a home break-in, or a smoke or fire incident (87%), that doesn’t stop over 40% of us regularly asking our neighbours to check in on our homes while we are not there but this does not deter burglars, as they can be aware that a home is left unoccupied and your neighbours can’t protect your home 24/7.

Speaking about the most recent figures for 2022, Eoin Dunne, Managing Director of PhoneWatch said “It’s worrying to see a 33% increase in the nationwide burglary rate and indeed an increase across most counties in Ireland. If this rate of increase was to continue until the end of the year, there would be approximately 11,500 burglaries in 2022. At PhoneWatch, our aim is never to scare or unnecessarily frighten people, but to make them aware of the realities of burglary so that they can take the preventative measures to help prevent such occurrences. Above all else, PhoneWatch want people to feel safe in their homes. We are reminding all homeowners to take simple but effective steps to help avoid the trauma of a burglary, especially as the dark evenings close in.”