——I understand that the mother of a 12½ year-old who was driving the car was a passenger in the car and was seemingly enjoying herself at that time.
The problems for the Garda that are posed by acts of vandalism and violence on the streets of our cities are considerable and the Garda cannot be expected all alone to carry the burden of dealing with them. There are those who loudly proclaim that the causes of the mindless anti-social behaviour that often characterises such acts derive from deficiencies in family and social life, from bad housing, from lack of amenities and so on. I do not altogether exclude these factors but constant attribution of them as the root cause of the whole problem is not acceptable. There can be no tolerance in a democracy for these law-breakers. There can be no excuse made for violent attacks on the weaker sections of the public—the old, the infirm, the very young. Regrettably it is often they who suffer from the violence and the depredations of the vandals.
The Garda Síochána are our defence. They are in the front-line in combating crime. They deserve to get the wholehearted support of every citizen. I know that they do get a considerable amount of assistance from the public. They have acknowledged that help. But I urge that an even greater contribution be made. Any information that anyone has, however trivial or unimportant it may seem, that may have a relation to a criminal offence, he should pass it on to the Garda. They will be grateful for such information and, maybe, it will result in the detection of the offender. That is the most effective deterrent against the criminal.
Of course parents have a responsibility in all of this. The criminal acts we are talking about here are in many instances being done by young people whose parents cannot altogether escape censure. The schools, too, can make a contribution by inculcating in the young a respect for their fellowmen and for public and private property. Young people will respond if they are given proper guidance and I should like here to pay a tribute to the excellent work that is being done by the many voluntary organisations that cater for young people. The boys clubs, community centres, parish centres and the like are all providing real and positive assistance in this regard. The local authorities too have a role to play. Dublin Corporation, particularly, has made a very direct impact by providing playgrounds and recreational facilities in very many areas of the city. I acknowledge the work they and other local authorities have done for the travelling people by the provision of serviced sites for them. But despite all this good work, we are still faced with problems.
I believe that it will need the concerted and continuing efforts of all those involved to work together to provide young people with outlets for their energies and enthusiasm in legitimate activities. It is right to point out to those who may not know it, or who choose to overlook it, that we in this country are not alone in having a crime level which is much higher than it was ten years ago. A rise in serious crime has occurred in many countries over the past few years and what has happened here is a reflection of what has happened everywhere. No doubt here I run the risk of being accused of complacency because I make this point. No fairminded person who knows my record and the record of the Government in the area of law and order can validly make that accusation.
The reason I refer to the possibly worldwide escalation in crime is to put our situation in context. It would be wrong for anyone to get the impression that high crime rates here arise from any dereliction of duty by the Garda Síochána or from any failure on my part, as Minister for Justice. It is my job as Minister for Justice to see that the Force have the resources of men and equipment that they need. This is not an appropriate occasion to deal at any length with the causes of crime but the crime rates here, as elsewhere in the world, arise from a combination of many factors which include changing social and moral values in the community. These changes have made the primary functions of the police—the prevention and detection of crime—that much more difficult to accomplish. Let me here again underline one important point, that the community must realise, that sector of it, the vast majority which is well-behaved and law-abiding, that crime prevention is not just a matter for the police. It is everybody's responsibility. We can all help the Garda and, of course, ourselves, by taking common-sense precautions to protect ourselves and our property, in this way making things that much more difficult for the potential criminal.
It will be generally agreed that essentially the Garda need manpower, and manpower that is well-selected and trained and deployed in the most effective way. They need transport and communications and a range of varied equipment. My record in looking after all these things is one that I am not afraid to defend.
In relation to manpower—and with due respect to Deputy Desmond I am not omitting woman-power—we have excellent ban-ghardaí as well as men—I would remind the House that when I took office as Minister for Justice in July 1977, the strength of the Garda Síochána was 8,485. By 31 March this year, Garda strength had been increased to 9,577 and recruitment is continuing with a view to bringing the strength up to 10,000 by the end of the year. In all, a total of 1,509 gardaí have been recruited since July 1977 but, allowing for wastage through retirement and deaths, the total net increase in strength since then is 1,092. The next batch of 90 recruits will complete their training in Templemore on 8 May next and the majority of them will be assigned to stations in Dublin.
During 1979, the Detective Branch was increased by approximately 300 members and the strength of the Garda Technical Bureau is now being increased to provide for four investigation units instead of one as at present, whose services will be available to assist in the solution of serious crimes. The Special Task Force is also being increased to approximately more than double its present size so that it can more readily respond to whatever demands are made on it.
There have been comments for some time past about the alleged need to improve the quality of Garda recruits. I dealt with this matter fairly fully in reply to a recent Dáil question and here I will just repeat three points: first, the vast majority of recruits coming into the Force in recent years have qualified in the leaving certificate examination. The figure is that at the last intake over 94 per cent had the leaving certificate. Secondly, the academic standard required for entry to the Garda Síochána is comparable to the standard set for entry for practically every major police force in Europe. Thirdly, I have the assurance of the Garda Commissioner that the standard of recruits coming into the force in recent times is as high as at any time in the past, if not higher.
Recruit training is being reviewed to see whether the existing programme is adequate in terms both of content and duration. I can assure you that the findings which emerge from this review will meet with a very positive response from me.
In-service training—that is refresher training for serving gardaí—has been introduced and is being gradually extended. The Government took a decision some months ago to establish a residential Police College for the training of middle and senior rank officers. I should mention that to strengthen the management structure of the Force the Government also some months ago, appointed two additional assistant garda commissioners, one of these to have specific responsibility for force training at all levels.
Towards the end of 1978, a new unit was set up in Garda Headquarters, headed by a superintendent with special responsibility for the operation of a community relations bureau, and for the overall administration of the juvenile liaison officer scheme. The main objective of the bureau is to increase the co-operation and improve relations generally between the Garda Síochána and the public.
The superintendent and inspectors in the bureau have given a number of talks to various community groups and associations in the Dublin area, and in addition a selected inspector in each district in the Dublin Metropolitan Area has been given special responsibility for community relations work in his particular area. In general, these inspectors help members of the public and youth or community organisations who need advice; they also keep in touch and co-operate with groups and organisations in their districts and so encourage a better understanding of Garda problems.
It is essential to ensure that members of the Force are deployed in the way that enables them most effectively to perform their duties. Here some experimentation is necessary. Modern transport has created certain problems for police—it has made criminals much more mobile—even to the extent as Deputy O'Brien said of ramming Garda cars—and takes up much police time in dealing with traffic congestion, accidents and so on. At the same time transport is an invaluable aid to police—it makes it possible for them to maintain a presence over a wide area and to respond quickly to incidents or calls for assistance. Patrol cars, controlled by radio, make different systems of policing possible and studies are at present being carried out by a joint Garda and Department of the Public Service study team to see what organisation of mobile and foot patrols can best meet our needs, both in rural areas and particularly in the developing new suburbs of our cities and towns.
We are told constantly that what is needed is the garda on foot, patrolling his beat. In the same breath we are told that this system of policing is outmoded having regard to the fast cars and sophisticated methods used by modern criminals. What we need is a satisfactory level of Garda presence on our roads and streets where they are easily accessible to the public but at the same time the Force must have the means of responding quickly to whatever demands arise. A garda on foot, patrolling a suburban roadway may give reassurance to the residents there but he can be of little help in the case of a burglary or some other crime which arises maybe only a quarter of a mile away. It is necessary to establish what allocation of men to different areas and what combination of foot patrols and patrol cars is best suited to our needs, and work is going ahead rapidly on this.
To ensure that the maximum possible number of gardaí are made available for operational police work, an examination is being carried out to see to what extent gardaí on clerical duties can be replaced by civilians. The Force already have the assistance of approximately 300 civilian staff but I am hopeful that this number can be considerably increased. It is obviously desirable that gardaí who are specially selected and trained for police duties should not be utilised on duties which do not require police training, skills or powers. The possible extension of civilianisation is being examined in full consultation with the Garda staff associations under the Garda Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme and I am hopeful that good progress will be made soon.
I propose now to give the House some crime statistics for 1979. The figures I give are provisional figures—and I stress that—and there is a possibility of some variations in the final figures when these have been compiled. It is hoped that the Commissioner's Annual Crime Report for 1979 will be ready for publication in a few months' time. Although we are dealing here with violence and vandalism in urban areas, I think it would be useful to view the problem in context of the overall crime situation. The number of indictable offences for 1979 is provisionally 64,051 which represents an increase on the 1978 figure of about 3 per cent. A total of 26,310 of these offences were detected in 1979; this is a detection rate of 40.0 per cent, which is about the same as the rate for 1978.
Turning to incidents of vandalism I do not think that I need weary the House with reams of statistics. I will confine myself to giving some figures about the situation in central Dublin. The number of reported incidents of malicious damage in the city centre in 1979 was 6,211; in 1978, the figure was 5,924, in 1977, 5,997 and in 1976 5,593. Of course the level of vandalism is high and is a matter of serious concern. Since I have taken up office Garda strength in the four Garda districts in the city centre has been increased by 9 per cent.
Vandalism is also on the increase in Cork City, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, but I am advised that outside these urban areas this type of behaviour is not causing a serious problem, though of course the members of the public who suffer from the actions of vandals view the situation in the light of their own experiences. I do not blame them for that. Anyone of us who was a victim would react the same way.
Current provisional overall crime figures for the Dublin Metropolitan area are not good. They have not been good for many years now and despite the measures that have been taken by the Government and by the Garda the level of crime remains far too high. Vandalism and violence have increased, but I am not despondent. I have every confidence in the Garda Síochána and, so far as I and the Government are concerned, they will not be denied the resources they need to do their job.
I want to refer briefly to comments made by Deputy O'Brien with regard to an alleged conflict, a row or, as one newspaper put it, a public brawl between the Garda Commissioner and myself. At a dinner in Limerick last week I went into this in great detail because it was my first opportunity with a Garda audience to deal with the matter since publicity was given to what happened in Galway. There was no row, no conflict, or anything remotely approaching a row or conflict, between the Garda Commissioner and myself. I do not have to ask anybody to accept my word for that because I can prove it very easily.
The statement I made about crime levels and for which the commissioner, according to one newspaper, had "rapped" me, was not thought up by me or by anybody in my Department. It was a statement provided by Garda headquarters. The story that I was trying to conceal the true picture and that the commissioner found it necessary to reveal it, is completely untrue and is not in accordance with the facts. I could be more specific. I, as Minister for Justice, have no source of information about crime levels other than the Garda Síochána. It is therefore impossible for there to be any conflict between us about these figures because I get the figures from them.
Crime statistics are not secret. They are published yearly in great detail in the commissioner's annual report. For a variety of reasons, the 1978 report was not available until quite recently and showed a small decrease in crime when compared with 1977. When the 1978 report was being published some weeks ago I said in an interview—and I am not now referring to the Galway speech but to an earlier interview—that the decrease, small though it was, was welcome and I paid tribute to the Garda Síochána for their efforts in securing such a result. I went on to say that indications were that the 1979 figures when available would turn out to be of about the same level. That was exactly and precisely the information supplied to my Department by Garda headquarters. That was not bad news, bearing in mind that we had previously witnessed increases of the order of 20 per cent between one year and another. Having made that remark and having paid tribute to the Garda—which was the whole point of what I was saying—I went on to point out that I was not foolish enough to think that a small reduction of this kind should make us complacent about the crime situation.
I repeated the gist of those remarks a few weeks later in Galway. I did not even speak of the downward move in 1978 but of the halt in the upward trend. I did so before a Garda audience for the purpose of enabling me to lead into a tribute to the Garda Síochána for their efforts. The commissioner in his speech in Galway was good enough to respond by thanking me for my tribute to the Force making the observation that the hope I had expressed about the 1979 figures might be slightly optimistic. That was the sum total of the "challenge", the "contradiction", the "row", or, as one evening newspaper put it, the "public brawl" between the Minister and the Garda Commissioner. Life is full of hazards. I clearly said in Galway and elsewhere that there was no room for complacency about the figures but, believe it or not, the same newspaper accused me of being complacent. One cannot win. That is the situation.
I thank Deputy O'Brien for accepting what I said, that there was not, is not and will not be a row, because I can prove beyond a shadow of doubt that there was not. I appreciate the Deputy's very responsible approach in this area. It would be very bad for the morale of the police if there was a row. The police, as a body, need 100 per cent support and co-operation from all the community if they are to take on the criminals, whether they be juveniles or adults, and to deal effectively with them on behalf of our community.
I had a number of meetings recently with the Garda Commissioner and Garda authorities about what I believe is a very serious problem in this city, as it is in other cities. This is a very big problem. The temporary arrest we had made in this type of juvenile crime is on the increase again.
I thank Deputy O'Brien on his comments on Loughan House. I did not like to establish Loughan House, I never wanted to have to do it, but there are people who would be free if members of the Labour Party had got their way, and perhaps members of Fine Gael. They have a motion on the Order Paper asking that Loughan House be closed. As I said, I did not like the idea of Loughan House, but I do not make apologies to anybody for having it. I have been pilloried for it by the do-gooders.
I say to them that it will be kept there, and if necessary I will open more of that type of institution. If it is necessary to have such institutions to protect the community, the old and the infirm, I have a responsibility to provide them and that I will do. Some youngsters of this age are in for rape, for assaulting and mugging old people—I am talking about the people in Loughan House. They are not just put in there. They are being trained to be channelled back into society again. Some of those who have been in Loughan House have been brought back into society and we hope and pray that we will continue to be successful with this work. Those who complain in this House about the high rate of vandalism and violence, which I agree exists, would do well to remember that when you talk to the old people who have been mugged or whose handbags have been snatched, you learn that if they are to be protected as they must be, those, as they were called by Deputy O'Brien, incorrigibles must be taken out of circulation for the protection of the community.
Deputy Eileen Desmond is shaking her head and smiling. She was on the radio the other night asking for my resignation as Minister for Justice. She is about to speak and perhaps she will tell us what she will do about the under-16 rapist or the mugger. Will she bring him down to Togher in Cork and let him loose there? No fear.
