Crime targets: US tourists have 113 passports stolen in a year
IRELAND's tourism body has insisted that Americans still see Ireland as a safe country to visit, despite a warning by the US State Department about our levels of drug crime and driving.
The US department's Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) heightened fears among US travellers by warning that the country was far from crime free.
In only its second official briefing, the department warned US tourists about the risk of burglary, drug offences and sexual assaults.
"In 2008, the American Citizen Services Unit reported that American citizens were the victims of muggings or street robbery and 113 passports were replaced as a result of these crimes," it added. "Visitors typically become victims of crime when they drop normal security practices, due to either excessive alcohol consumption and/or the misconception that there is little or no crime."
It said that as can be expected, crime trends are more concentrated in the larger cities such as Dublin, Limerick and Cork.
"Regardless of location, Americans travellers should maintain the same level of awareness and practice, with the same personal security habits, that they would in any large city in the US," it added.
The report noted that figures have shown that drug offences mark the highest increase in crime.
- Fiona Dillon
