Court sees drop in murder, rape cases
There has been a significant drop in the number of murder and rape cases reaching the Central Criminal Court, it was announced today.
The number of rape cases has decreased by 60% since 1999, with 52 cases received by the court last year compared to 130 four years previously.
These figures also represent a drop of 30 rape cases since 2002, the Courts Service Annual Report reveals.
Last year 39 murder cases were received by the cetral Dublin court, a decrease from 55 in 2002.
There was a total of 49 convictions in murder cases, including guilty pleas. Of those, 32 were murder convictions and 17, manslaughter and other charges.
There were 43 full murder trials which resulted in 25 murder convictions and a further 10 convictions of manslaughter or other offences.
Presenting the report to the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell in Dublin, chairman of the Courts Service Justice Susan Denham said 81% more murder cases were processed last year compared to 2001.
“This court has tackled a long backlog and has reduced waiting times by half to just under 12 months,” she said.
The court has up to six judges tackling the most serious crimes against the person to come before the courts.
It sat in September for the first time ever last year, ensuring 25 additional murder and rape cases were heard.
The extra sittings had a significant impact on waiting times in the Central Criminal Court, slashed six months from 18 months in 2002.
Last year saw the court sat outside of Dublin for the first time, when several cases were heard in Limerick.
There has also been a significant reduction in the number of cases to come before the Special Criminal Court.
While 288 cases were heard in 1974, 29 were heard in 1994, the year of the first ceasefire, and just nine trials were heard last year involving 19 defendants.
Today’s report was the fourth of its kind to be produced by the Courts Service.
