Vol. 523 No. 3
1 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he acknowledges that there is widespread public concern resulting from the escalation of street violence; his views on whether there is a need for a more visible Garda presence on our streets; and the reason he has failed to take initiatives to tackle this major problem. [20894/00]
2 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made to date by Operation Oíche in combating public order offences and street violence in the Dublin area; the investigation he will hold into the apparent conflict between the number of people treated in Dublin hospitals for injuries arising from assaults; the level of reported assaults reflected in Garda figures; the plans there are to extend Operation Oíche to other urban areas which are experiencing similar problems; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20150/00]
5 Mr. Coveney asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the measures he plans to introduce to tackle the level of violence on the streets of large towns and cities. [20603/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1, 2 and 5 together.
I share the House's concern about any act of violence or apparent trend in lawlessness. I am sure we all agree that incidents of unprovoked attacks are both worrying and disturbing. It is wrong to draw conclusions or make assumptions about trends without checking the actual data available to the Garda on the subject. Before I proceed to outline the actions which have been taken by the Government to address this issue, I want to comment briefly on the actual incidence of offending under this heading.
From time to time particular forms of offending attract considerable public and media attention. This is perfectly understandable and it is certainly understandable that violence among young people, which every parent is naturally concerned about, should attract more attention than other forms of offending. When it comes to assessing the actual incidence of any particular form of offending, however, the level of media and public attention devoted to it cannot be taken as a reliable measure.
The statistics which emanate from hospital casualty departments cannot be taken as a definitive measure of incidence. While there is no doubt that the staff attached to casualty departments do an excellent and demanding job at all hours of the day and night in dealing with those who suffer injuries of all kinds, they are not trained crime investigators. It is not easy for them, for example, to know who is the victim and who is the perpetrator and the tendency of perpetrators would be to claim victim status. Nor are they likely to have frank admissions when a group has suffered injury in pursuance of a common criminal purpose that there was a single fracas. It is much more likely that each injured party will claim to be the victim of separate criminal occurrences. In addition, a number of these cases would not be related to what is described as street violence.
While it is accepted by the Garda Síochána that some assaults are not reported, there is no evidence to suggest, particularly in relation to serious assaults, that the public is less likely to report today than they have in the past. As such, the comparison of Garda reported crime over periods of time constitutes the most consistent indicator of crime trend analysis rather than direct comparison with hospital statistics to which Deputy Shatter refers.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the prevailing trends indicate that there is no appreciable increase in public order offences and street violence. A downward trend is being recorded in some of the flashpoint areas. Of particular note is that gardaí encountered relatively few problems on the night of the recent junior certificate celebrations. The Garda has informed me that proactive policing measures on the night, combined with a high degree of parental involvement in the organisation of celebrations, were among the key factors which underpinned the low level of public order problems. In addition, more than 16,000 age cards have been issued already which, together with changes I have made in our licensing laws, are addressing the problem of underage drinking.
Everyone in the House will accept the strong link between street violence and the irresponsible and excessive consumption of alcohol by young people, particularly after closing time at the weekend. The congregation of youths outside fast food outlets in the early hours of the morning also leads to public order problems. Contrary to what Deputy Shatter says, these problems have been addressed by me and the Garda Commissioner with a number of initiatives which are designed to prevent crime and reduce the fear of crime. I will now outline them to the House.
A number of Deputies have stated that the extended licensing hours provided for by the Intoxicating Liquor Act may have contributed to public order problems. However, the extension of closing time by one hour has not been shown to have contributed to public order problems. As the House may be aware, a national public order initiative, Operation Oíche, has been launched by the Garda Commissioner to tackle street violence and public disorder on the streets of large towns and cities. I understand the operation will focus on the primary areas of public disorder, public intoxication, underage drinking, illicit drug use and underage alcohol sales.
Locations of recurring incidents are receiving particular Garda attention with the emphasis placed on high visibility patrolling. Special resource units and unmarked crime task force units are also utilised to the full. Pinch-point locations in the city have been selected for intensive patrolling involving the Garda mounted unit, the Garda dog unit and the Garda air support unit.
The House will be familiar with the positive impact on public order problems associated with the use of CCTV. As I have informed the House on previous occasions, an advisory committee has been established by the Garda Commissioner to evaluate applications for new Garda CCTV systems. The committee has to date received in excess of 40 applications or expressions of interest from cities and towns for CCTV systems as aids to policing. These include Ballyfermot, Ballymun, Blanchardstown, Clondalkin, Dublin South Central, Dún Laoghaire, Finglas and Tallaght. It is too early at this stage to say precisely how much all these projects, if approved, would cost.
I can inform the House that the Cork and Dublin South Central CCTV projects are currently being undertaken. The budget for 2000 is £700,000. Recently, the CCTV system in O'Connell Street and the adjoining areas was increased from 38 to 42 cameras and the CCTV system in Pearse Street, Dublin South Central, is currently being increased from nine to 24 cameras.
The Garda Commissioner has also brought together people to provide expert advice on the particular factors which appear to be at work in the manifest tendency towards serious violence in certain instances among young people. Expert advice of this kind from psychologists, sociologists, etc., must inform the type of police response required.
As the House may be aware, I have made funding available through the national development plan to expand the network of Garda youth diversion projects. The projects are designed to divert young people away from crime. They challenge the criminal and anti-social attitudes which some young people may have and they are instrumental in bringing about behavioural changes. There are currently 39 such projects and I hope to launch the second phase of the projects being developed under the national development plan within the next few weeks.
In order to curb the sale of alcohol to underage drinkers, last month I formally launched the age card awareness campaign. Any person aged 18 years or over may apply for an age card at their local Garda station to confirm that they have attained the legal age for the purchase of intoxicating liquor. I am pleased to report that 16,100 age cards have been issued to date and that applications are being received at a brisk rate. I am confident that the age card scheme will assist greatly those operating in the licensed trade and those who run clubs and restaurants. In addition to these proactive policing measures, the Garda is consulting widely with publicans, hoteliers, off-licences, nightclub owners and so on with a view to ensuring full compliance with the relevant legislation.
As Deputies will be aware, the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000, imposes a strict liability on publicans concerning the sale of alcohol to underage persons. Already one publican has been convicted under this provision and the new penalty of temporary closure of the premises, introduced by the Act, has been imposed. While legislative measures, together with initiatives such as the voluntary age card scheme, help to curtail the problem of underage drinking, they cannot be viewed as the total solution. Dealing with underage drinking should not be seen as the province of State agencies alone. Parents, the drinks industry and the media must also play their part in helping to address the problem.
Additional Information
The problem of violence among young people, particularly young males, is a source of concern to me, the Garda authorities and every responsible parent. There is no merit in overstating the incidence of this violence no more than there is any honesty in pretending it is an issue of little importance. It is an issue of considerable importance and one which causes understandable anxiety. While it is not something that can be addressed by law and order measures and police action alone, there is no doubt that such measures can contribute to reducing its incidence. I am determined to tackle the problem and I have the full support of the Garda in this regard. Significant actions have been taken, as I have explained, and if further measures are required I will not hesitate to take them.
As we are taking three questions together the overall time limit is 18 minutes, of which seven have now passed.
Will the Minister acknowledge that the Central Statistics Office has established that approximately one third of the crimes committed nationally are reported to the Garda? Will he also acknowledge there is substantially more street violence reflected in Garda statistics? Will he accept that during the summer months we had an orgy of street violence which resulted in a large number of people being seriously injured and in fatalities? Will he accept that his total failure of policy in this area has resulted in his policy of zero tolerance being perceived by an increasing number of people as zero competence?
In the context of the celebrations on the night the junior certificate results were announced, will the Minister acknowledge that they were quieter than usual due to the shock people experienced as a result of the tragic deaths of Brian Murphy and David Langan just a few days previously? Will the Minister state exactly on what date Operation Oíche commenced and what increase there has been in Garda patrols since then? Why was this problem not treated with the seriousness it deserved and given greater priority as it became obvious during May, June and July that we had major difficulties on the streets of our cities?
The criteria utilised in compiling the commissioner's annual report were precisely the same during the year 1999, 1998 and 1997 as they were during the period of the last Administration. In those circumstances, we have to take it that we are comparing like with like. The figures show that there has been an appreciable drop in crime levels since the Government came to office.
With regard to the serious assault offences to which Deputy Shatter refers, I am informed that the total number of indictable assault offences, for the year 1998 totalled 691, with 571 offences detected. Incidentally, that is a detection rate of 82.6%. That reflects well on the excellent work of the Garda Síochána in respect of which Deputy Shatter was so critical during the summer.
We are talking about the year 2000, not two years ago.
Figures for 1999, covering the period January to September inclusive, showed a total of indictable offences standing at 450—
None of the questions relates to that.
—with 369 offences detected. What I am trying to set out here is that the Garda report available to me does not buttress the argument being made by Deputy Shatter on a major increase in the number of serious assaults in our cities and towns. However, I am conscious that there is street violence and that this is particularly occurring among young males. The Commissioner and I had a number of dis cussions on this matter and decided that a specific policing response was required. It is in that context that some weeks ago Assistant Commissioner McHugh announced that there would be an operation, now known as Operation Oíche, and its specific role is to target trouble spots in the Dublin area in the first instance. The objective of the exercise is to try to root out the problem in so far as that can be achieved in the short term. In the longer term, it is part of a deeper malaise. In that respect the Garda Commissioner has set about having the report of an expert group, including sociologists, psychologists and so on, to see what may be done in the longer term in respect of this problem. Resources, in so far as they can be committed to attacking the problem, have been committed. The Garda Vote has been increased over the past three years by 42%. The number of gardaí in the force has increased. The number of prison spaces has increased, and resources generally available to the Garda have increased appreciably.
Will the Minister accept that he is either ignorant of or deliberately blind to the substantial increase acknowledged by every other monitoring agency of male on male assault, particularly with regard to young males, during the summer months just passed? Will he accept that victim support, and the statistics from the Dublin hospitals, underline the growing issue of male on male violence occurring in Dublin and that it is his primary responsibility to address that issue? What are the specific areas currently covered by Operation Oíche? What plans does the Minister have to extend that form of policing to other areas in Dublin and elsewhere in the nation? Will he accept that it is wholly unacceptable to respond to this issue by way of advisory committee in relation to CCTV cameras and expert group to look into the longer-term malaise in society? While the Minister is establishing expert groups and advisory committees, young people are being maimed, wounded and killed, and he has a responsibility to put a stop to it. When and where will Operation Oíche be extended? When will we have a detailed list of new sites for CCTV cameras?
To answer the last question first, I intend to bring proposals to the Government in order to extend the use of CCTV to many urban areas throughout the State following upon its success in the pilot areas.
When?
This session. With regard to the whole issue of street violence generally, Deputy Howlin quotes figures given by Dublin hospitals, and I understand that figure was 1,400. Initially there was a response from Opposition politicians to the effect that this represented unprovoked assault. The reality is that of the people who go into the casualty departments, some may be perpetrators, some may be victims, some may have suffered indictable assaults, some may have suffered summary assaults, some may be victims of domestic violence and some may pretend they are victims when they are perpetrators. I am not criticising the accident and emergency staff – they do their very best in extremely difficult circumstances – but it is not and it has not ever been their function, and hopefully it will never be their function, to become involved in crime analysis.
I am satisfied that the Garda response to date has been effective. It is true that Operation Oíche will be confined to certain parts of Dublin. The situation is being monitored carefully, however, by the Garda Commissioner and over time he will decide, in accordance with his operational function, where and when the operation should be extended. It is not a function of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform of the day to become involved in operational matters. My job is to formulate and implement policy, and that much I have done.
Has the Minister discussed it with him?
In so far as criticisms levelled by Deputy Howlin are concerned, I say without fear or favour that never in the history of the State have more resources been given to An Garda Síochána. We are currently aiming for the highest number of members of An Garda Síochána in the history of the State – 12,000. By the end of the lifetime of this Government we will have provided an additional 2,000 prison spaces. I have increased the Garda Vote by 42% since 1997.
All is well, is that the Minister's contention?
I have introduced the new PULSE system. We have had an unprecedented amount of legislation in this House—
All is well. Such complacency.
—and all is still not well but there has been significant progress. An analysis of the figures formulated on the same criteria as were utilised in the formulation of crime figures during the period of the rainbow coalition Government show that the Government's policies have resulted in a drop in serious crime by more than 20%.
So there is no problem?
There is still a problem but it is a problem I will tackle with precisely the same energy as I have tackled all the other problems.
The Minister is very smug.
Why does the Minister continue to say that general crime figures are down when we are trying to discuss the issue of street violence? If he considers that the levels of assault and street violence are not increasing, why are there 40 applications for CCTV systems from around the country? Why are all the major towns and cities calling for similar operations to Operation Oíche to be put into practice outside Dublin? Why are consultant doctors complaining about the increased numbers of young men coming into their accident and emergency departments having been beaten up in a more vicious way than in previous years? Is the Minister so narrow minded that he only looks at Garda figures when considering this issue? Is he ignoring the public on this issue. The public is genuinely concerned about it? Parents do not sleep at night until their children come home for fear of their safety.
The Deputy's time is concluded.
Children and teenagers are afraid to socialise in city centres because of the lack of order on the streets. One person has responsibility for that, and that is the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
People want CCTV because there has been an appreciable drop in street crime wherever CCTV has been installed. I will facilitate local communities, in so far as I possibly can, in that respect. With regard to the other issues the Deputy mentioned, I am concerned about any violence on our streets and I have explained that I am taking measures, along with the Garda Commissioner, to try to ensure these are minimised to the fullest extent possible.
