There has been a serious escalation in the level of crime in Rathmines, Dublin. A recent letter which I received from a trader in the area stated:
We are approaching in Rathmines an almost complete breakdown of law and order. Burglaries and housebreaking are rampant. Criminals are released on bail to go out and commit more crime. In Rathmines for the first three months of the year we have already exceeded the total crime rate for 1993. In Rathmines most of the shops have been broken into at least once — many of them several times. There is very little physical police presence on the street. The stock answer is that there is a shortage of manpower. Can the law not be changed? Can we have more policemen? Is it a problem of management?
Those are the questions that a trader in the Rathmines area has asked because of the level of crime he and his colleagues are experiencing in the area. I cite that letter to illustrate to the Minister the depth of feeling and the concern being expressed not only by traders in Rathmines but also by residents. The problem is continuously raised with me. A letter from another resident in my constituency states:
Our road has become the target for a systematic series of burglaries. Four houses have been burgled in the last few weeks. Most of the houses on this road have burglar alarms. We have set up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme for the road. Effectively, as citizens we have taken all the appropriate steps to protect the road — short of forming vigilante patrols.
One would not like to see this position developing but it is interesting that a law-abiding citizen makes this statement. This resident asks for additional patrols, even for a temporary period, to counter crime and to make resources available so that alarm calls can be promptly attended to.
I pay tribute to the efforts which the gardaí are making in the area to deal with the problem. My impression is that they are under-resourced to deal with the problem in the area and are doing as much as possible with mobile patrols, both uniformed and plain clothes gardaí, but it is difficult to do that and make it compatible with the many other demands on their resources.
In the case of the citizen whom I mentioned, the criminal charged with crime, a drug addict, was granted bail and committed further crimes on the same road while on bail awaiting trial. How can the residents on that road have confidence in the system in light of this experience?
The Minister should consider the implications of this position which is common throughout the city and the Bill put forward by the Fine Gael spokesperson on Justice, Deputy Gay Mitchell, in relation to bail. A recent editorial in a Garda magazine states:
Bail for serious crimes for the current breed of organised criminals is simply an opportunity to build up a nest-egg for the time when they come out of prison.
Detaining persons while on bail will require additional prison space, but this issue must be considered in the context of prison reform. The Minister should consider the recently published Fine Gael document on prison reform and give it priority. We do not have a national bureau of crime statistics, so precise data in relation to offences committed while on bail is not available and this should be addressed. It is critical that a law-abiding community should feel protected. There is no freedom if people do not experience personal safety. This is especially true for the vulnerable members of our community, such as the elderly, who feel imprisoned in their homes in Rathmines. I know of one elderly lady who has been burgled eight times over a number of years.
I have passed to the Minister a letter another constituent wrote to me. It states:
I wish to inform you that as a result of mugging and handbag snatching I have at my own expense collected 1,032 names and addresses in a petition for greater policing in the suburbs.
She went on to state her concern about the collapse of law and order and her vulnerable position. The Minister should analyse the crime trend in the Rathmines area on an ongoing basis. I would like to know the results of such an analysis. Will any of the new Garda recruits be deployed in this area? Have civilian staff been recruited to release gardaí from administrative duties to outdoor duties? Is it intended to install closed circuit television in this area or will that facility be confined to the city centre?
The results of a recent crime survey undertaken by Fine Gael in the Rathmines, Rathgar, Donnybrook, Sandymount, Ballsbridge and Ranelagh areas revealed 60 per cent of respondents or someone in their home, had been a victim of crime in recent years, with some households experiencing more than one crime during that time. My car window was smashed on two occasions while stopped at traffic lights in the past two years. In that survey many people made the important point that they considered they were not kept informed by the Garda of the progress of cases which had come to the attention of the Garda and only 10 per cent knew of charges made. I am not blaming the Garda for this position as it is a matter of resources. However, if people are to have confidence in the Garda they need to know they are responding to such cases and the details of the response.
The question of truancy is a critical issue and it is the high road to delinquency. It is regrettable that a national programme to deal with it has not been put in place. The 1908 legislation needs to be updated. I hope it will come before the Dáil in the near future. I look forward to the Minister's response to the issues I have raised.
