Photo: Robert Ashby · CC BY-SA 2.0Crime in Spa: the figures, without a grade
Set beside Ireland, where violence, burglary and damage come to 11.9 per 1,000 residents a year, the local figure is 16.6. The yearly rates were 10.7 violent incidents and 5.9 incidents of burglary and damage per 1,000 residents, set against 3.6 and 3.7 in the typical town its size. Spa has fewer than 1,000 residents, and Safety is graded from 1,000: below that, a handful of incidents moves the rate a long way.
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 Spa
Above the Irish rate
The station areas Spa’s residents live in record 16.6 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025), against 11.9 across Ireland: 1.4 times the national rate. Safety Grade ↓
Written from CSO’s recorded crime by Garda station (CJA11) and Census 2022. Figures are incidents the Gardaí recorded, not convictions.
Why Spa has no Safety Grade
Spa has fewer than 1,000 residents, and Safety is graded only from 1,000, where a handful of incidents no longer moves the rate a long way.
The figures below are still Spa’s own: what the Gardaí recorded in its station areas.
About 11 in 1,000: recorded violent incidents a year
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 6 burglaries or acts of criminal damage, plus 19 thefts, a year (2023–2025 average). Each dot is one resident; each coloured dot is one recorded incident.
What was recorded in Spa, year by year
Violent · per 1,000 residents
Burglary & damage · per 1,000 residents
Its highest year was 2025, at 17.3 per 1,000 residents, and its lowest 2016, at 11.7. Across Ireland the same rate went from 12 in 2016 to 11.6 in 2025. At about 6 graded incidents a year, a few cases move these figures a long way.
Every year as a table
| Year | Violent | Burglary & damage | Graded | Ireland | All recorded crime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 11.1 | 6.2 | 17.3 | 11.6 | 76.5 |
| 2024 | 10.2 | 5.9 | 16.1 | 12.1 | 74.3 |
| 2023 | 10.7 | 5.8 | 16.4 | 11.9 | 74.8 |
| 2022 | 8.8 | 6 | 14.8 | 11.6 | 71.1 |
| 2021 | 8.2 | 5.4 | 13.5 | 10.2 | 64.5 |
| 2020 | 7.6 | 6 | 13.6 | 10.6 | 69 |
| 2019 | 9.9 | 6.9 | 16.8 | 12.8 | 80.6 |
| 2018 | 7.3 | 6.6 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 80.8 |
| 2017 | 7 | 5.3 | 12.2 | 12.8 | 74.5 |
| 2016 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 11.7 | 12 | 77.4 |
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 Spa’s residents live, per 1,000 residents, against Ireland as a whole.
What was recorded, by type
Show as a table
| Category | In the grade | Per 1,000 | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theft | not graded | 19.2 | 3.8 |
| Public order offences | not graded | 14.4 | 2.1 |
| Road and traffic offences | not graded | 10.6 | 5.4 |
| Assaults and harassment | Violent | 9.5 | 3.2 |
| Dangerous or negligent acts | not graded | 5.6 | 4.5 |
| Drug offences | not graded | 5.5 | 1.1 |
| Damage to property | Burglary & damage | 4.1 | 2.4 |
| Offences against justice | not graded | 2.9 | 0.7 |
| Burglary | Burglary & damage | 1.8 | 1.3 |
| Weapons and explosives | Violent | 0.7 | 0.2 |
| Robbery, extortion and hijacking | Violent | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Other offences | not graded | 0.4 | 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 1,000 to 2,500 people.
The nearest Irish towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Away | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castleisland | 23 km | 3.8 | 2.3 | A− |
| Ballybunion | 27 km | 6 | 3.2 | B |
| Listowel | 28 km | 7.8 | 5.3 | C |
| Killarney | 31 km | 7.9 | 4 | C+ |
| Abbeyfeale | 35 km | 2.8 | 2.2 | A+ |
Straight-line distance from the centre of Spa. Towns nearby can differ a lot from Spa.
Each town’s own station-area figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Crime in the places around Spa
| Town | People | Violent | Burglary & damage | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spa | 362 | 10.7 | 5.9 | — |
| Tralee | 26,079 | 10.7 | 5.9 | C− |
| Milltown | 1,118 | 3.7 | 2.3 | A |
| Killorglin | 2,163 | 3.7 | 2.3 | A |
Spa records more graded crime per resident than 2 of its 3 neighbours; only Tralee records more. Milltown, 15.6 km away, records 3.7 recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year (3-year average), against Spa’s 10.7.
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 Spa 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 Spa
Is Spa safe?
The Gardaí recorded about 10.7 violent incidents and 5.9 burglaries or acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year in the station areas Spa’s residents live in, averaged over 2023–2025.
What is the most common crime in Spa?
Theft: about 7 a year (2023–2025 average). Next came public order offences (5) and road and traffic offences (4).
Is crime going up in Spa?
The recorded rate in the graded categories rose 48% from 2016 to 2025: 11.7 per 1,000 residents in 2016, 17.3 in 2025. In a town this size a few dozen cases move the figure, so the grade uses the three-year average.
How does Spa compare with Ireland as a whole?
The station areas Spa’s residents live in record 16.6 incidents of violence, burglary and damage per 1,000 residents a year (2023–2025). Across Ireland the figure is 11.9.
Is Spa safer than the towns around it?
2 of the 3 neighbouring towns with figures record less violence, burglary and damage per resident than Spa (16.6 per 1,000 a year). The lowest is Milltown, at 6.
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. 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).