For every month in 2019, Netwatch reviews the crime rate in Ireland and crime statistics for businesses. We post monthly crime rate updates detailing where, when, and the type of attempted security breaches we encounter.

Crime Statistics for December 2019

  • Criminal activity was mixed for business sectors in the month of December. Car dealerships, private residence, power utility sites and warehouses all saw a spike in attempted perimeter breaches.
  • Building sites, office buildings, retailers and schools all experienced a drop in activity. Attempted breaches dropped by 30% for retailers and which could be connected to longer opening hours and more staff presence during the busy shopping month.
  • There was change in daily activity pattern for December with criminals changing their routine. The hours between midday and 6pm saw a spike in activity. Criminals are aware that most sectors shut down for half the month and see this as an opportunity.

 

Crime Statistics for November 2019

  • November saw a massive reduction in crime rates across the board compared to October. Car dealerships and office buildings had the biggest reduction at 22 and 23 percent respectively.
  • Day-to-day activity for all sectors reduced across the board apart from Fridays which experienced a rise in attempted perimeter breaches of 18%.
  • The top three busiest hours for criminals in November were 7pm, 8pm and 9pm.

 

Crime Statistics for October 2019

  • As you might expect, the amount of crime deterred at building sites rose as intruders came in search of material for bonfires.
  • Sunday saw a significant drop in activity this month while Tuesday was one of the busiest days. This is noteworthy because Saturday and Sunday usually see the most activity.
  • Schools were a favourite target this month as young people attempted to breach parameters and gain access to the grounds.

 

Crime Statistics for September 2019

  • Students going back to school coincided with a significant drop in attempted breaches across the board with rates falling by 22% compared to the previous month.
  • While every other category saw a decrease in activity, retail was the only one to suffer an increase – attempted breaches rose by 20% during September.
  • Once again, the busiest time of day was 19:00 to 20:00 followed closely by 20:00 to 21:00.

 

Crime statistics for August 2019

  • The busiest hour for prevented break-ins during the month of August was 19:00 to 20:00 with criminals focusing their attention on warehouses and factories.
  • Retailers saw the biggest decrease in activity compared to the previous month as incidents fell by 18%.
  • Sunday, which is typically the busiest day of the week actually saw a significant drop in criminal activity.
  • Attempted breaches between 18:00 and 00:00 decreased as criminals began focusing on the earlier hours of 06:00 to 12:00.

 

Crime statistics for July 2019

  • The number of prevented crimes stayed consistent from June to July. However, criminals turned their attention to office buildings having focused on power facilities the previous month.
  • While Saturdays and Sundays are consistently the busiest days for potential intruders, criminals picked up their mid-week activity in July – Wednesday saw an increase of 27%.
  • Ever the night owls, criminals didn’t venture out too much between 6am and 6pm. Instead, most attempted breaches happened in the late hours between 6pm and midnight.

 

Crime statistics for June & half-year report

  • Following two months of considerably high attempted security breaches, June saw a decrease of 4.8% over May. However, the rate is still 4.5% higher than June 2018.
  • For the first six months of the year, Sunday (20.5%) was the peak day for attempted breaches followed closely by Saturday (20.3%). This means the weekend is still the peak period for attempted breaches in 2019.
  • 40% of attempted breaches occurred between 6pm and 12am in January – June 2019.
  • March was the month with the most attempted security breaches for the first 6 months of 2019.

 

Crime statistics for May 2019

  • Construction sites saw a decrease of 28.3% this month following the significant upsurge in attempted security breaches felt in April.
  • Attempted security breaches remained at a similar rate to April with only a slight 0.9% increase overall.
  • The number of attempted security breaches occurring between 6am and 12pm increased by 18.6% over April and 25.3% over May 2018.
  • Attempted breaches at Netwatch monitored retail sites increased 16.7% over April 2019 and 7.3% over May 2018.

 

Crime statistics for April 2019

  • There was a 32.1% increase in activity on the April Bank Holiday Monday (22nd April) compared to other Mondays in April.
  • Attempted security breaches on Netwatch sites decreased by 2.3% over March’s statistics.
  • While a slight decrease was felt nationally, attempted breaches increased considerably again on construction sites by 21%.
  • There was an increase of 9.3% increase in attempted breaches between 6pm and 12am highlighting the fact that even brighter evenings won’t discourage criminals.
  • Saturday was the peak day for attempted breaches at 18.7%.

 

Crime statistics for March 2019

  • Attempted security breaches on Netwatch sites rose considerably in March for the second month running by over 17% on February’s rate.
  • Warehousing and office buildings bore the largest number of attempted breaches, increasing 20.4% over February and  23.3% over 2018.
  • St Patricks Day saw an increased level of activity (vs other March weekends) with intruders attempting to access vacant buildings and sites while staff were operating at reduced numbers or on leave for the Bank Holiday Monday.
  • 40.2% of attempted breaches in March occurred on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Crime statistics for February 2019

  • The number of attempted security breaches took its first jump of the year, with an increase of 8.2% over January and 1.3% over February 2018.
  • Attempted breaches occurring between 6am and 12pm increased by 36% in February.
  • 21% of attempted breaches occurred on Sunday (peak day) with a 32% increase in activity on the weekend.
  • Warehouse and Factories felt the largest monthly increase of 16.1% and a yearly increase of 6.7%.

 

Crime statistics for January 2019

  • Criminals took a break after Christmas as attempted security breaches in January on Netwatch sites were down by 9.3%.
  • Construction sites and car dealerships saw the biggest decreases in the number of attempted breaches at 15.4%.
  • 41% of attempted security breaches occurred between 6pm and 12am in January.
  • Saturday was the peak day for attempted breaches at 18.5% occurring on that day.