Vol. 465 No. 4
9 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the number of murders committed in 1995 and to date in 1996; the number of arrests made in each case; the number charged in each case; the number convicted or acquitted in each case; the plans, if any, she has to deter further such offence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9865/96]
I am informed by the Garda authorities that there were 43 murders, including two cases of murder of persons aged under one year, in 1995. Twenty-nine persons were charged in respect of 24 of these murders. The situation in the cases where persons have been charged is as follows: pending before the courts — 24; convicted — 4; and charge dismissed — 1.
In the course of investigations into all of these murders, many people would have been questioned by the gardaí and arrests made as appropriate. Investigations into the remaining 19 cases are ongoing and arrests have been made in 15 of these cases, but the persons concerned were released without charge — it should be noted that in three other cases suspects are deceased.
As regards 1996, I am informed by the Garda authorities that there were 20 murders as per the date of compilation of these figures. Thirteen persons were charged in respect of 12 of these murders. All of these cases are currently pending before the courts. Investigations into the remaining eight cases are ongoing and arrests have been made in five of these cases, but the persons concerned were released without charge — it should be noted that in one other case the suspect is deceased.
It is important to note that the murder figures supplied are provisional and, subject to the outcome of Garda investigations and/or directions from the law officers, a number of these cases may be subsequently reclassified as manslaughter or some other crime.
All murders are fully investigated by the gardaí and every possible effort is made to bring the perpetrators to justice. In this regard, the gardaí allocate optimum resources to the investigation of all murders. The primary task, of course, is to identify those responsible and to assemble evidence to support the institution of legal proceedings. In addition, special attention is also directed to the motivation involved.
Crimes of this nature are investigated by divisional investigation teams, the membership of which includes detective gardaí who have been trained in the investigation of serious crime. The gardaí involved in these investigations know the local community and they work in close proximity to sources of intelligence. The divisional investigation teams are assisted by gardaí from the Garda Technical Bureau who provide specialised services such as ballistics, photography and fingerprints.
In addition to providing assistance to the divisional units, the Serious Crime Squad at the Central Detective Unit has the task of gathering intelligence and information on all serious crime. Every effort is made in the examination and collation of this material to establish if the crimes are linked in any way. This includes, in the case of murder, trying to establish if there is a common perpetrator for two or more offences.
The Garda authorities are satisfied that maximum resources are deployed to solve all murder cases.
In view of the appalling number of murders in the State over the past 18 months, does the Minister for Justice consider that the expertise available to the Garda for the investigation of these offences is adequate; if she believes there is a need for the reinstatement of the murder squad and whether she is concerned about the increase in murder of and attacks on women? What action does the Minister intend to take on these very serious matters?
As I said, the Garda authorities are satisfied that the maximum resources are deployed in the solving of all murder cases. They have informed me they have adequate resources to investigate all murders thoroughly.
The Deputy has raised the issue of the restoration of the murder squad. This has earned some notoriety in the media as if, somehow or other, the absence of a murder squad means there are no resources or facilities for the Garda to investigate murders. Nothing could be further from the truth. It might be appropriate for me to remind the Deputies of what the Commissioner said yesterday to the members of the Garda Síochána. He stated:
I would like to repeat again that the Murder Squad (which investigated all serious crime as well as murder) was not disbanded in the late 1980's. It was reduced substantially in numbers in the belief that Detectives would operate more effectively if based nearer to the location of serious crime and nearer to sources of information. I agree totally with the decision which was taken then and I feel that I am in a far better position to judge the situation than most others, given that
I worked for 16 years in the Murder Squad in three different ranks.
There are two Detective Superintendents and a number of Detective Sergeants in the Serious Crime Unit at H.Q. available to provide advice and expertise in major and complex investigations. The personnel who were deployed to other Detective duties from the Murder Squad are made available when needed for the investigation of serious crime, from their new locations, such as the Central Detective Unit at Harcourt Square. Forensic/technical support continues to be provided from H.Q. as it has always been. Training courses for Detectives and Scene of Crime Examiners are ongoing and members are allocated periodically to the Serious Crime Unit at H.Q. to gain first-hand experience in investigation techniques.
I will conclude by quoting the words of the Commissioner which seem to express a type of frustration at the perception that there did not seem to be a murder investigation capability in the Garda.
He said: "The incongruity of headlines which call for the restoration of the murder squad while reporting on the successful investigation of murder, or maybe double murders, by the present methods is not recognised by all". I am satisfied from what the Garda Commissioner told me, and from what he said as recently as yesterday, that he does not believe there is a need for a unit called the murder squad to be reestablished. We have a serious crime investigations service and there are all sorts of expertise available for the investigation of murder.
The Minister has selectively quoted from the Garda Representative Association conference yesterday. The President of the Garda Representative Association said yesterday it was clear that the Government had no interest in crime. Is the Minister satisfied with the detection rate in respect of so called "gangland" or "contract" killings and how does she intend to tackle it?
I quoted from the Garda Commissioner's statement, not from the GRA conference. The Deputy also chose a selective piece from that conference. I quoted from the Garda Commissioner's statement because the Deputy asked me about the murder squad. If the Deputy had been present at the GRA conference he would have heard my rebuttal of the allegation by the President of the GRA who said this Government had no interest in crime. With regard to what the Deputy referred to as "contract" killings all murders are murder. In our law there is no such thing as "contract" killing. I know what the Deputy is referring to — a killing that takes place where somebody walks into somebody's house, assassinates them and disappears. It is particularly difficult to investigate those killings and to find the culprit because there is seldom any connection with the person they have killed. The Garda authorities inform me that all such killings are investigated rigorously and that they will continue to do so and try to bring the perpetrators to justice. In those killings the information the public can give to the Garda is particularly important because the Garda can make no connection between the perpetrator, who comes in, kills somebody and disappears, and the person who is killed.
We ought not dwell too long on any of these questions. There is a time limit involved. A brief question, please.
I appreciate that, Sir, but we did not get anywhere in relation to this matter. At the very least will the Minister consider a weapons amnesty in the State?
The laws relating to firearms are set down as to how people can get legalised weapons. Many weapons are held illegally in the State. I have not given any consideration to a weapons amnesty. If the Deputy tables a separate question I will give consideration to some of the issues that might be discussed with regard to an amnesty on firearms. The last time there was a hand in of weapons the number was minimal.
