I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who regrets he is unable to be present due to other business. The Minister has asked me to thank Deputy O'Brien for raising this matter and indicated that he welcomes the opportunity for a debate on this issue.
As the Deputy is aware, the functions and powers of joint policing committees, JPCs, are set out in the Garda Síochána Act 2005, which provides for a committee in each local authority area. The Act provides that joint policing committees operate under guidelines issued in September 2008 by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
With regard to the joint policing committees generally, it is fair to state that some are working better than others. While a number of areas have well established JPCs, particularly those which were part of the initial pilot process that commenced in 2006, there are areas where committees have not been fully operational for long. Therefore, any assessment of their activities must have regard to this context. Inevitably, there will also be some differences in approach between committees in different local authority areas. This is as it should be as flexibility is expected of the JPCs. Clearly, there is likely to be a different set of issues arising for city area joint policing committees compared to those dealing with more rural communities.
The focus for joint policing committees must be to support appropriate local responses to local situations and the Minister does not wish to impose a heavy central hand on their deliberations. With this in mind, the guidelines already allow considerable flexibility to committees in how they conduct their business. For example, it is open to them to invite relevant people who are not committee members to participate in the discussion of particular agenda items.
The Minister believes there is sufficient experience of the operation of the joint policing committees at this stage to begin to take stock of their progress and identify approaches which are working in some locations and may be applicable elsewhere. As he informed the House previously, his Department, together with the Garda Síochána and Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, are carrying out an examination of their operation. The intention is that a document will be prepared on the basis of which consultations will take place with local authorities and this in turn will facilitate any necessary updating of the guidelines.
To help with this process the Department of Justice and Equality is conducting a short survey of all joint policing committees members which should provide a better overview of how the committees are operating. Members have been asked to return survey forms by 6 February, after which the Department will collate the information received to summarise the principal issues and concerns expressed. The resulting document will be made publicly available and submissions from Deputies and members of the public would be very welcome.
The Garda Síochána Act 2005 also provides for the establishment of local policing fora at neighbourhood level. These fora are intended to operate in a more informal way than the joint policing committees and deepen the engagement between gardaí, the local authority and neighbourhood communities. It was decided to prioritise the establishment of local policing fora in local authority areas where local drug task forces operate. This is considered a reasonable approach at this time, given that the areas in question are where more complex crime issues are most likely to arise. The review of joint policing committees will include a consideration of the role and extent of local policing fora.
On crime levels, while joint policing committees can make an important contribution to our strategies to reduce and prevent crime, they are only part of the overall picture. We must also acknowledge the consistent efforts of the Garda Síochána to confront crime and uphold the rule of law in our communities. The Government is resolutely committed to confronting crime and enhancing public safety and its programme very much recognises and supports front line policing to achieve this objective.
On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I remind Deputies that work on developing a White Paper on crime is at an advanced stage in the Department of Justice and Equality, following an extensive consultation process. One of the issues addressed in this exercise has been the role of the joint policing committees. The Department engaged with the committees during the course of the consultation process and gained valuable insight which will feed into the examination the Minister has initiated. The White Paper will set out a policy framework for future strategies to combat and prevent crime. The intention is that this process will lead ultimately to a national anti-crime strategy in which the joint policing committees will have an important role to play. I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue.
