Crime in Dublin, Ireland

All the bad areas in Ireland were put in Dublin. That’s why other places seem so much nicer compared to Dublin. Dublin is filled with scumbags who harass and attack people from no reason. The scumbags always were puffer/rain jacket with tracksuits and expensive runners

Ireland is quite safe but Dublin is clearly not, one of the biggest shitholes of Europe

Got attacked in Tolka Valley Park with stones, branches, palets by over 15 underage brats. They were trying to steal my bike. Called Garda which only showed up after more than 40 minutes time in which I had to defend myself.
First three kids came talking and looking at it then came back with the huligans.
Garda won't do anything so stay safe and avoid that area as much as possible.

I was in Dublin yesterday and the city centre around O’Connell street is awful and had a very antisocial vibe to it.
One problem is that it is difficult to get around Dublin City with the absent of good public transport (ie there is no metro in Dublin and the backbone is made up of slow clunky buses) and then there is the ever increasing discrimination against private cars, which has resulted in normal people avoiding the city and leaving it with drug addicts and knacker teen gangs who harass the few normal people who are left visiting the city.
To tourists I would not recommend visiting Dublin, instead I would recommend Cork and Galway instead. Sadly Dublin has turned into a horrible city.

Sadly

I'm an international student in Ireland. Just got my 400 Euros worth of smartphone and my bank card stolen by a young teenager on a bike, as I was walking down Dominick Street yesterday. I could not find a single Garda on sight even near O'Connell Bridge. NONE!!! Such crowded areas. Everyone at the Luas station just watched carelessly the teen cycling away with my phone in his hand even though I blew my whistle loudly. This must be quite normal for Dubliners. Then I went to the Ilac Shopping Centre and asked the security personnel to call the Garda for me, but they refused and said they wouldn't help because the incident did not take place within the shopping centre.

As the theft happened, the gang of teens congregating on Dominick Street told me to be quiet, which tells me that he was known to them. Then I went to the Mountjoy Garda station, I had to wait in line for almost 20 minutes. A female Garda taking notes on an empty piece of ripped paper told me that I would need to go to another garda station because they were only responsible for the Mountjoy area. As she was taking notes, she said "these things happen anywhere in the world". Such a relief. She said it would take WEEKS before I could get any response. When she asked me about the phone brand, the expression on her face was like "it's not worth wasting my time here, just go home".

I called my phone from another number and a drunk, homeless person answered and asked for 100 Euros on behalf of the teens. I met that person on O'Connell, and luckily there I saw a garda car driving and I whistled and shouted. The Garda man climbed out of his car and confiscated his drugs. He cursed at him and told him to bring the phone and "you'll get your drugs back"... He even scolded me for blowing a whistle to catch his attention, and that I was holding the homeless person's arm — who was clearly part of this organized crime. The Garda man said I could get into trouble for holding his arm... WOW!

When I got home I called my bank to cancel my card, and they told me that there have been contactless transactions, which should be refunded they said. Isn't that amazing, my phone is stolen and my bank account is almost depleted and I am left with no money or food until my payday. And I am still expected to be motivated to work and study...

I will not live in Dublin in the future. Dublin has a major drug, alcohol and gang problem and the Garda is useless.

People say the northside is bad but really it's on both sides.. Do your research and look up the bad neighborhoods instead of blindly thinking you'll be safe on the Southside... Crumlin, Tallaght, Ballyfermot and Rialto are among the worst neighborhoods in Dublin and they are all on the Southside.

Personally I would recommend going to Dun Laoghaire, Howth, Ballsbridge, Phibsborough, Stoneybatter, Rathmines, Clontarf and Drumcondra if you want to visit Dublin without the anoyying scumbags..

I was punched from behind once in dublin city centre 2012 or 2013 in broad daylight with hundreds of people around to see. It was a weak punch but still quite shocking since I’ve never been assaulted before and I’ve been in many big cities.
I’m not irish and maybe I looked foreign to them so it could be that they target more foreign looking people and not irish looking?

I would say you would be more likely to be assaulted or harassed in Dublin and some other parts of Ireland then many major cities around the world from my experience but it also depends on what you look like, what clothes you wear, if you are alone etc.
The scumbags seem to always wear grey adidas tracksuits and have a buzzcut for some reason I guess in their minds they think they look tough lol.

I’ve been to the city centre maybe 5 times and with those aggressive teenagers and junkies everywhere I wouln’t recommend going alone.
If you see a group of teenagers with grey adidas tracksuits, stay away

In Dublin (and Ireland overall), OK areas and very bad areas are sometimes separated by nothing more than a few metres. It's therefore really tricky for tourists or foreigners to gauge where is safe and where isn't. Adding to the problem, as many others have commented, is abysmal problem of young gangs. Many are under 18, meaning little happens even if they are caught committing crimes. If under-18's don't sound threatening, you might think again when surrounded by 10 or 20 of them. Many are on drugs.

Sometimes the motivation is robbery to pay for their habit. Other times it is boredom. Unlike in other major cities, crime in Dublin often has no motivation other than to pass the time or look 'hard' in front of friends. This can involve random physical attacks, harassment, verbal abuse and of course regular anti-social behaviour.

I am sure there are criminological reasons - whether it is the breakdown of the family structure or the failure of criminal justice. But the result is that few places in Dublin are safe.

My advice is -
Isolated areas: Be mindful of groups of young people congregating and approaching and keep a wide berth. Always be on the lookout for large groups and get offside quickly. If they are far enough away and you spot them early, it is unlikely they will chase you down. But if you have to pass them on the street or in a park, it is likely you will at the very least encounter some verbal abuse. Or of course worse.

Crowded areas: Here you need to aware of pickpockets. Crowded areas are safer from the gangs because there are simply so many people and it is easy to blend in and not be targeted. But the flip side is that this is where pickpockets will operate - and they are prevalent in Dublin, so be very careful.

Public transport: This is awkward because if the previously mentioned gangs get on and sit all around you, there is little you can do. But the obvious thing here is to swallow your pride and get off at the next station, or move to another carriage. Don't engage with them. It only makes a negative encounter more likely. So many people, young and old, get beaten and harassed by these gangs. Don't give them a chance. It doesn't matter if you are in a couple, in a family, or alone. The smaller your group, the more likely you will be targeted. But save being in a group of 10 rugby guys, they don't discriminate. They'll target anyone.

Night: During the day Dublin can be OK if you follow the advice listed above, but at night the atmosphere really changes and becomes very unpleasant. Getting mugged or attacked isn't guaranteed, but it is a possibility and you need to minimise your exposure to the city dark because if there are lots of crazies about during the day, they multiply at night.

Dublin is unlike any other city I have ever lived in because the chances of meeting trouble are not necessarily confined to particular areas. Of course there are very,very dangerous areas in Dublin but it seems you can meet hassle throughout Dublin. No offence but the city is a shithole and is in massive social decline. Lived in London,New York and Amsterdam but I am more anxious walking around Dublin than in any of those cities. Personal safety is a constant lietmotif in Dublin. Zombie-like druggies looking for money, gangs of kids making life a misery for so many people in estates etc...it's a fecking nightmare. How this has been allowed to continue is mind-boggling. Absolutely no will by anyone to put a stop to it so I guess we get what we deserve. Advice: if you can leave this dump do so before it all goes down. I'm sorry to write this.

I forgot about Kiliney, Dalkey and Shankill however they're very expensive so don't go broke for them.

I forgot about Ronanstown, Clondalkin, Drimnagh, Liffey Valley, Corduff and some parts of Blanchardstown in my last comment

Some parts of Dublin are lovely, especially the south side and during the day. Have lived in Dublin west my whole life and once you're locked away in your own space by the time it starts to get dark, generally you're fine. Also, while you should always report crime, the gardai are normally useless, so I wouldn't expect that anything would be done about it.
Advice for tourists: Just don't go anywhere near the hostels/ food drives or the routes between them at night, or near any hospitals, train stations, buses, shopping areas etc... Just stay in your hotel / the pub across the road from your hotel. Most areas are good during the day, just watch your belongings on crowded streets and try to not stand out too much. 99% of people have no trouble. Would also recommend that you don't travel alone in most areas. Even during the day.
@Cesar: Once you don't use excessive force, there is no problem here with self-defense, as far as I've seen (our house was broken into and my partner was not prosecuted for causing the guy injury).

I don't feel safe in Dublin and I'm a tall, well-built guy.
Too many young gangs randomly starting fights, mugging people.

Most perpetrators of crimes in Dublin are junkies and scumbag teenagers who have nothing to do all day. If you keep vigilant and know where all your stuff is you should be safe as with any other big city in the world. peace

Dublin crime is on the rise but it’s not as bad as other places in Europe, it can be quite scary at night with the amount of scumbags around. Ireland in general has a massive scumbag issue who have no respect for anyone and just like to pick fights for no reason just because they are bored and have nothing else to do. It’s different compared to other countries in Europe that way. Except the U.K. which is even worse as it has way more scumbags who will actually do some scary things.

If I suffer any physical violence in Ireland for example, can I defend myself and the ones with me spanking or going even further without going to jail? Or Ireland became a third world country like Brazil or Mexico, where in practice, you are only able to be robbed, assaulted and murdered, without the option to pay with self coin?

There is a specific term for scumbags in Ireland, Knackers. That alone should give you an idea of level of safety in Dublin. Dublin is full of knackers. It is a small city, which gives a high probability for you to be in a bad area. City center is okay during daytime but it is only around 20 minutes away by bus from problematic places. At night it is dangerous.

Crime is a bit different than in other countries. While in Paris, you could be mugged and scammed. In dublin, people can harrass you verbally, physically and racially, just because you stand out and they are bored. They won't kill you but it is very frequent. This harassment happens on every age level from kids to adults and seems to be a part of irish culture.

Coupled with bad public infrastructure and level of public services. The police, Gardai is quite helpless dealing with this frequient but low level crime. They won't arrest scumbags, because it won't be any help.

To help you make further research on the subject. Google with terms: busses + antisocial behaviour or Reddit and youtube: dublin knackers and scumbags.

I am writing this as an international student, having lived in five different countries around Europe: Finland, Sweden, Spain, France and Ireland.

Ok everyone... Can someome tell the truth about the safety in Dublin please? I don't live there but I have met on Internet some expats who live in Dublin and they all told me that they feel safe living in Dublin. Some of them also told me that there are a lot of drunk people around but they don't bother regular people. So, who should I believe? Please, don't lie and only share your experiences of living there because I'm starting to think that some people here like to get in trouble, so that's why many people share this kind of experiences.

Dublin is dangerous for European standards. Evenin the city center. Groups if young thugs punch you for lookjng at them the wrong way. Not even gonna bother the Northrrn and Western neighbourhoods, hellhole. Seen more crime in 9 months than in my other 27 years. Beware people

Gang wars, junkies in huge numbers in the city centre stabbing and mugging people.

Dublin is a nasty and dangerous city. Over half of the city can be described as horrible and in most places you don't wanna be, not even during the day. Ballyfermot, Finglas, Ballymun, Coolock, Darndale, Clondalkin, Blanchardstown and on and on and on. are all horrible

For tourists checking this site, please be aware the nonsense written below and be aware of crime, muggings, robberies, knackers looking for trouble, fistfights about nothing etc etc. City center at day is pretty OK, at night its quite a different story, twenty 15-year olds beat the crap out of you for a cigarette. Take care of yourself since the Garda is overstretched and underarmed

The crime is not heavy in the sense that if anything happens, it is hardly going to kill you. With this said, it's far from feeling safe. Kids in gangs will just randomly attack you in the sunlight, in the middle of the city without 2nd thought whatsoever. There's a bunch of cases of people hospitalized because of this. When I ask around, people say it's the government not giving a shit, because basically it's not a good idea to defend yourself, apparently.