Vol. 430 No. 7
15 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice her intentions or proposals, if any, in respect of reforms or improvements in the criminal law with a view to clearly establishing the balance in favour of the victims; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
Reforms or improvements of the criminal law can either take a form which is designed to assist those who actually become the victims of crime or a form which tends to ensure that people do not become victims in the first place. The latter is just as important as the former and I think it is widely known that I have proposals at an advanced stage — in relation, for example, to matters such as public order — which will tend to thwart the activities of offenders and would-be offenders.
I could not give details of planned legislation designed to assist victims by way of reply to a Dáil question. My proposals in this regard will be announced in the usual way.
I should say of course that in recent years very significant measures have been introduced to improve the position of the victim in the criminal justice system. The Criminal Law (Rape) Acts, 1981 and 1990, provided for anonymity for complainants in cases involving serious sexual assaults, excluded the public from proceedings in such cases and imposed restrictions on the adducing of evidence relating to the complainant's past sexual history. The Criminal Evidence Act, 1992, included provisions to make it easier for victims of physical or sexual abuse to give evidence by allowing the use of live TV link and video recording. The Criminal Justice Act, 1993, which came into force on 3 May 1993, imposed an obligation on sentencing courts to take into account any effect a sexual or violent crime has had on the victim when determining the sentence to be imposed and gives a right to the victim to give evidence in this regard. It authorised criminal courts to require offenders to pay compensation to their victim for any injury or loss and the court in determining the amount has to have regard to any evidence or representations made by or on behalf of the victim. It also enabled unduly lenient sentences to be reviewed at the instance of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
I am keeping this matter under review and when introducing future legislation special consideration will be given to the position of victims.
First, can the Minister say to what degree emphasis will be put on crime prevention so that people do not become victims and, second, what time frame has she in mind for the introduction of the legislation mentioned in her reply?
I hope to introduce the legislation dealing with the issue of public order this session. I am sure the Deputies on all sides of the House who have been calling for this legislation will be prepared to co-operate in putting the Bill through the House. It is my intention to introduce the other legislation in the autumn. To respond to the first part of the Deputy's question, equal emphasis should be placed on crime prevention.
Can the Minister say if the necessary resources will be made available to ensure that we are successful in preventing crime?
The necessary resources have been made available to prevent crime. In this regard the Garda authorities have adopted a pro-active approach. Very often neighbourhood watch schemes and community alert programmes, which are actively supported by members of the Garda Síochána, are instituted as a result of the efforts of the Garda and of Muintir na Tíre in some cases. This is proof, if proof was needed, that substantial gains are being made in the prevention of crime.
