Sex crimes on the rise

There was a record number of sexual offences reported in Westmeath Garda Division last year.

According to newly released figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), there were 54 sexual offences reported in 2017, a 38% year on year increase, and the highest recorded figures since the CSO began reporting on crime figures in 2003. Of the 54 offences, 52 were classified as “rape and sexual assault”.

In total, there were 4,450 crimes reported in Westmeath last year, up 8% on 2016.

In addition to the rise in sexual offences, there was also a 43% increase in the number of burglaries from 241 in 2016 to 347. Thefts and related offences rose by 10% last year, from 995 in 2016 to 1,090.

Despite the high number of public awareness initiatives alerting the public to the dangers of drink driving, the numbe of people caught in Westmeath for being over the limit rose for the fifth year in succession.

According to the CSO's figures 212 people were arrested last year for drink drinking in the county, a 5% perecent year on year increase, and 30% more than in 2013 when the figure was 162.

The number of controlled drugs offences rose by 20% last year, from 810 to 982. The jump is due to the high number of festival goers charged with personal possession during the summer months – in the second quarter of last year there were 727 recorded offences for personal use, compared with 54 and 53 in the third and fourth quarters of the year.

The number of public order offences fell from 685 in 2016 to 625 last year, a drop of 9%.

Nationally, crime rates, excluding road traffic offences, increased by 7.5% last year, with 214,205 offences recorded — an annual increase of almost 15,000.

The CSO's recent publication of crime figures follows a year long suspension due to what it describes as “quality issues” relating to data from the Gardai's PULSE system.