Photo: Robin Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0Crime per resident in Cork City Centre runs higher than in 98% of Irish towns
It grades D− for safety on incidents the Gardaí recorded in the station areas where Cork City Centre’s residents live from 2023 to 2025: #52 of 54 in Co. Cork. Per 1,000 residents a year, violence, burglary and damage come to 36.5 here and 11.9 for Ireland as a whole. Add to that, the local count comes to 23.5 violent incidents and 12.9 incidents of burglary and damage per 1,000 people each year, with 5.7 and 6.1 in the typical town its size. The crimes the grade counts held steady per resident from 2016 to 2025.
Incidents per 1,000 residents (Census 2022) a year, 2023–2025 average, in the Garda station areas residents live in. Homicide and sexual offences aren’t published by station, so no figure here includes them.
What stands out about safety in Cork City Centre
A centre, counted per resident
Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but much of it involves people who come in to work, shop or go out, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents’ own risk. How to read it ↓
Public order offences: high for a town its size
Cork City Centre records 44.9 incidents of public order offences per 1,000 residents a year, against 5 in the typical town among Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. By type ↓
Above the Irish rate
The station areas Cork City Centre’s residents live in record 36.5 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025), against 11.9 across Ireland: 3.1 times the national rate. Safety Grade ↓
More crime than many places its size
Among the 40 Irish towns closest in size, Cork City Centre ranks 40th, counting from the least graded crime. Towns its size ↓
Written from CSO’s recorded crime by Garda station (CJA11) and Census 2022. Figures are incidents the Gardaí recorded, not convictions.
What’s behind Cork City Centre’s grade
How sure: The rate comes from Garda station areas, shared out by where residents live, not from crime inside the town’s own boundary.
The grade counts assaults and harassment, kidnapping, robbery, weapons offences, burglary and damage per resident, averaged over three years, and places the town among every Irish town and city neighbourhood of 1,000 people or more (the five city totals aren’t in it).
Its place: #52 of 54 in Co. Cork and #308 of 320 Irish towns.
Violent crime, burglary and damage the Gardaí recorded per resident, 2023–2025, against Irish towns of 1,000 people or more.
What was recorded, by type
Against the typical town its size, Cork City Centre runs highest on public order offences (44.9 per 1,000 against 5), theft (70 per 1,000 against 11.6) and weapons and explosives (2.8 per 1,000 against 0.5).
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theft | not graded | 70 | 11.6 |
| Public order offences | not graded | 44.9 | 5 |
| Assaults and harassment | Violent | 19 | 4.8 |
| Drug offences | not graded | 14.8 | 3.1 |
| Road and traffic offences | not graded | 14.8 | 9.3 |
| Offences against justice | not graded | 13.9 | 1.5 |
| Damage to property | Burglary & damage | 9.2 | 4.4 |
| Dangerous or negligent acts | not graded | 4.4 | 5.3 |
| Burglary | Burglary & damage | 3.8 | 1.8 |
| Weapons and explosives | Violent | 2.8 | 0.5 |
| Robbery, extortion and hijacking | Violent | 1.7 | 0.4 |
| Other offences | not graded | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Kidnapping | Violent | 0 | 0 |
The groups are CSO’s. Dangerous or negligent acts, drug offences, road and traffic offences and offences against justice count Garda checks more than victims; they, theft, public order and other offences are shown but not graded. Homicide and sexual offences aren’t published by station; fraud is left out.
Per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average. The tick on each bar is the typical (median) town among Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
40th of 40: Cork City Centre among towns its size
| # | Town | People | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crosshaven Cork | 3,263 | 1.4 | 1.8 | A+ |
| 2 | Tower Cork | 3,300 | 1.9 | 1.9 | A+ |
| … | |||||
| 6 | Riverstown Cork | 3,664 | 3.5 | 2.5 | A |
| 7 | Macroom Cork | 4,096 | 4.2 | 1.9 | A |
| … | |||||
| 37 | Shandon Cork | 3,539 | 13.7 | 9.7 | D |
| 38 | Blackpool Cork | 3,124 | 13.7 | 9.7 | D |
| 39 | Limerick City Centre Limerick | 3,434 | 11.2 | 12.9 | D |
| 40 | Cork City Centre Cork | 3,701 | 23.5 | 12.9 | D− |
The 40 Irish towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ people closest in population; the city totals are left out. Graded crime: violent crime, burglary and damage.
Graded crime per 1,000 residents a year, 2023 to 2025, counting from the least: towns ranked near Cork City Centre, and others in Co. Cork.
Crime in Cork City Centre per 1,000 residents
Violence per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025
Burglary & damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025
A crime isn’t a victim: one person can report several, and crimes in a town centre often involve visitors rather than residents.
And about 13 burglaries or acts of criminal damage, plus 70 thefts, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded incident.
The graded rate, 2016 to 2025: about level
Violent · per 1,000 residents
Burglary & damage · per 1,000 residents
Its highest year was 2022, at 38.8 per 1,000 residents, and its lowest 2020, at 26.8. Across Ireland the same rate went from 12 in 2016 to 11.6 in 2025.
Every year as a table
| Year | Violent | Burglary & damage | Graded | Ireland | All recorded crime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22.1 | 11.5 | 33.6 | 11.6 | 196.4 |
| 2024 | 24.7 | 13.8 | 38.4 | 12.1 | 209.2 |
| 2023 | 23.8 | 13.5 | 37.3 | 11.9 | 193.5 |
| 2022 | 25.9 | 12.9 | 38.8 | 11.6 | 198.1 |
| 2021 | 18.6 | 11.4 | 30 | 10.2 | 172.5 |
| 2020 | 15.4 | 11.3 | 26.8 | 10.6 | 149.4 |
| 2019 | 22.3 | 12.5 | 34.7 | 12.8 | 191.1 |
| 2018 | 19.2 | 13.7 | 32.9 | 12.4 | 216.3 |
| 2017 | 18 | 16.5 | 34.5 | 12.8 | 210.7 |
| 2016 | 18.3 | 14.3 | 32.6 | 12 | 210.9 |
CSO CJA11, recorded crime incidents by Garda station, 2016–2025, shared to the town by where its residents live. Every year is divided by the residents counted in 2022, so the line moves with recorded crime, not with population. CSO publishes recorded crime “under reservation”, its flag on the quality of Garda recording.
Violence, burglary and damage the Gardaí recorded each year in the station areas where Cork City Centre’s residents live, per 1,000 residents, against Ireland as a whole.
Crime in the places around Cork City Centre
| Town | People | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cork City Centre | 3,701 | 23.5 | 12.9 | D− |
| Shandon | 3,539 | 13.7 | 9.7 | D |
| South Gate | 7,185 | 25.1 | 13.6 | D− |
| Gurranebraher | 4,502 | 6 | 7.5 | C |
| Sunday's Well | 2,807 | 9.3 | 8.1 | C− |
| St Luke's | 4,278 | 11.2 | 8.8 | D |
| Blackpool | 3,124 | 13.7 | 9.7 | D |
Cork City Centre records more graded crime per resident than 5 of its 6 neighbours; only South Gate records more. Shandon, 0.5 km away, records 13.7 recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Cork City Centre’s 23.5.
Per 1,000 residents a year, the same three-year average. Tap a town for its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Station areas, not the town’s boundary. Crime is published by Garda station. Each station’s incidents are divided by the people living in its area (Census 2022), and Cork City Centre takes the rates of the areas its residents live in, weighted by how many live in each.
- Checks are shown, not graded. Road traffic, dangerous driving, drug and justice offences mostly record Garda activity: one rural station can book thousands of camera detections. The grade leaves them out, with theft and public order, and counts violence, burglary and damage.
- Each year, and one average. CSO publishes crime by station once a year. The chart follows every year since 2016; the grade averages 2023, 2024 and 2025, because a small station area’s count swings from year to year. There are no months.
- No streets. No street- or ward-level crime is published in Ireland: the finest grain is the Garda station area.
Questions about safety in Cork City Centre
Is Cork City Centre safe?
The Gardaí recorded about 23.5 violent incidents and 12.9 burglaries or acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year in the station areas Cork City Centre’s residents live in, averaged over 2023–2025. That earns a D− for safety: more crime per resident than 98% of Irish towns.
What is the most common crime in Cork City Centre?
Theft: about 259 a year (2023–2025 average). Next came public order offences (166) and assaults and harassment (70).
Is crime going up in Cork City Centre?
The recorded rate in the graded categories held steady from 2016 to 2025: 32.6 per 1,000 residents in 2016, 33.6 in 2025. The grade uses the three-year average, so one unusual year moves it less.
How does Cork City Centre compare with Ireland as a whole?
The station areas Cork City Centre’s residents live in record 36.5 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025). Across Ireland the figure is 11.9.
Is Cork City Centre safer than the towns around it?
5 of the 6 neighbouring towns with figures record less violence, burglary and damage per resident than Cork City Centre (36.5 per 1,000 a year). The lowest is Gurranebraher, at 13.5.
How sure is Cork City Centre’s Safety Grade?
The rate comes from Garda station areas, shared out by where residents live, not from crime inside the town’s own boundary.
Source: CSO, Recorded crime incidents by Garda station (CJA11), 2023–2025, and Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0); TownRatings calculation.
Sources: CSO, Recorded crime incidents by Garda station (CJA11), 2023–2025 · CSO, Census 2022 Small Areas and the 2011 Garda sub-districts · Safety Grade: TownRatings calculation. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).