Almost 2k crimes committed while on bail

Almost two thousand crimes committed in a single year in the Cavan/Monaghan/Louth division have been linked to individuals already on bail - a stark figure that places the Border region among the highest in the country outside of Dublin.

Up to December 16 last, 1,904 incidents in Louth/Cavan/Monaghan were recorded as having been committed by people who had given an undertaking in court to obey the law.

Nationally, 38,221 crime incidents were identified by An Garda Síochána as having been committed by persons on bail, according to the new figures released by the Department for Justice.

The breakdown reveals a pattern of persistent and wide-ranging offending. Theft tops the list at 10,104 incidents, followed closely by 9,789 public order offences.

There have been 5,377 court-related or bail offences, underlining how often alleged reoffending is intertwined with breaches of existing conditions. Drug offences meanwhile account for 3,582 incidents, while traffic infringements total 2,198 and criminal damage 1,440 incidents.

There have also been 1,232 assaults recorded as committed by persons on bail, alongside 941 burglaries and 819 firearms offences. Domestic-related incidents stand at 1,514.

At the most serious end of the spectrum, 84 incidents fall under homicide classifications, which include murder, manslaughter and threats to kill or cause serious harm. There were 213 robberies and 56 sexual offences linked to individuals on bail for the same period.