The Central Statistics Office has said it now has confidence in the Garda crime figures and has removed its warning about the reliability of the data.
The CSO has been publishing crime statistics"under reservation" for the past nine years and had suspended publication for a time because it was not satisfied with An Garda Síochána's PULSE data.The CSO said its recommendations have been implemented, there are good controls in place for crime recording and An Garda Síochána has appointed a senior manager with responsibility for data quality.
A CSO 2023 review found evidence of consistent high quality data levels and a much enhanced sense within An Garda Síochána of the risks to PULSE data quality and the controls and resources needed to manage those risks. The CSO said that"taken as a package, these give a level of assurance to users that they can be confident in the PULSE data".
He said:"Modern, professional police services increasingly use data such as crime statistics to prevent and tackle crime.