Rapes, sexual assaults and murder threats rose sharply in Kilkenny during lockdown: report
The number of rapes and sexual assaults recorded in the Kilkenny-Carlow Garda Division have almost tripled in a year, new figures reveal.
Threats to murder and people being caught driving while under the influence of drugs have also increased significantly, according to crime statistics for published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today.
They show the number of rape and sexual assaults in the Kilkenny-Carlow Garda Division increased by almost 200% from the same period in 2019, with 35 rapes and sexual assaults reported in the second quarter of 2020 compared to just 13 in the same period last year.
Murder threats almost doubled year-on-year, with just nine threats recorded in the second quarter of 2019, compared to 17 recorded between April, May and June of 2020.
Kilkenny Gardai have been busy catching people driving under the influence of drugs also, with 21 people caught between April 1 and June 30 this year. In the same period of 2019, just one person was found to be driving while under the influence of drugs.
Burglaries in the Kilkenny Garda district have halved, with just 40 burglaries recorded across Q2 2020, as opposed to 73 in the same period last year. Reported thefts have also fallen dramatically, by almost 50%, from 332 offences in 2019, back to 188 in the last quarter.
The CSO report also shows there has been a slight increase in offensive weapon offences, damage to property and damaged to the environment.
The figures were taken from the year starting April 1, 2020 to June 31, 2020.
A CSO spokesperson said: “Recorded Crime statistics for Q2 2020 begin to show the impact on Recorded Crime levels of measures introduced to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
“The number of crimes recorded in the category Burglary and related offences (nationwide) fell by 2,180 (-13.1%) to 14,406 in the year to Q2 2020 compared with the previous year.
“The number of Theft and related offences dropped by 7,655 (-11.3%) while the number of Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences decreased by 235 (-9.8%).
“The number of crime incidents classified as Controlled drug offences increased by 2,714 incidents (+13.5%) in the year to Q2 2020 relative to the previous year, while the number of Weapons and explosives offences also increased, up 305 (+11.7%),” the spokesperson concluded.
