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Crime Levels.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 December 2004

Wednesday, 8 December 2004

Questions (139, 140)

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

139 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he has taken to combat increased crime levels and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32727/04]

View answer

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

140 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he has taken to address the issue of street violence and anti-social behaviour and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32728/04]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together.

Provisional statistics show a decrease, not an increase, of 7% for the third quarter of 2004 compared with the same quarter last year and an overall decrease of 6% for the first three quarters of this year when compared to the first three quarters of 2003. Furthermore, there was a decrease of 3% in headline crime and a decrease of 14% in non-headline crime for 2003 compared to 2002. These decreases are encouraging and are indicative of both mine and this Government's ongoing commitment to reduce crime levels in this country through strong and effective crime prevention methods.

Strong provisions have been put in place to combat the causes of public disorder and anti-social behaviour countrywide. Reductions in violence and public order offences have followed the enactment, during 2003, of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act and the Intoxicating Liquor Act, along with the publication of the Garda Síochána Bill, which give significant additional powers to the gardaí to deal with public order and street crime. I particularly welcome the news that the number of assaults causing harm recorded in the third quarter of 2004 have decreased a further 2% compared with the same period last year.

In July, I published the Criminal Justice Bill 2004. This Bill provides for increased Garda powers in a number of areas, including preservation of a crime scene and powers of arrest and detention. The Bill also contains some additional provisions relating to admission as evidence of previous witness statements, prosecution appeals and fixed charges for certain public order offences. I am proposing to bring forward amendments to the Bill to provide for a number of further legislative measures.

In particular, I am aware that there is a growing concern about incidences of anti-social behaviour in society. I am concerned that vulnerable people, particularly the elderly, can be subjected to serious nuisance and forms of harassment which of themselves may not be criminal offences but which may cause great distress to the people concerned. One of the amendments I am considering for inclusion in the Criminal Justice Bill will empower the gardaí to apply to the courts, by way of civil procedure, for an anti-social behaviour order which would enable the court deal with the matter as it sees fit.

In September of this year, I relaunched the Crimestoppers initiative, an imaginative partnership between the gardaí, the business community and the community which has been in place for a number of years. It operates a confidential freephone Crimestoppers number which is available to the public to alert the gardaí about crime or suspicious activity and to offer information regarding ongoing Garda investigations. The confidential number is staffed by specially trained gardaí who are able to assess the value of the information being offered in the battle against crime. "CrimeCall" has also been launched, replacing "Crimeline". This programme is a proven effective method of identifying the perpetrators of crime based solely on the assistance of the public.

Garda youth diversion projects, formerly Garda special projects, are funded by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. They are a crime prevention initiative designed to engage with young people who have been identified as being at risk of involvement in criminal or anti-social behaviour. Each project is managed by a multi-agency and community based committee, which is responsible for the strategic direction of the project.

With regard to Garda resources generally, I am pleased that the Government has approved my proposal to increase the strength of the Garda Síochána to 14,000 members on a phased basis, honouring the An Agreed Programme for Government commitment in this regard. This is a key commitment in the programme for Government and its implementation will significantly strengthen the operational capacity of the force. The Commissioner will now draw up plans on how best to distribute and manage these resources.

Clearly, however, the additional resources will be targeted at the areas of greatest need, as is envisaged in the programme for Government. The programme identifies, in particular, areas with a significant drugs problem and a large number of public order offences but it will be possible to address other priorities as well, such as the need to significantly increase the number of gardaí allocated to traffic law enforcement duties. I have already promised that the additional gardaí will not be put on administrative duties but will be put directly into frontline, operational, high visibility policing. In each of the next three years there will be an intake of almost 1,100 new recruits per year. The advertisement campaign for this first tranche of 1,100 recruits was launched on Thursday, 25 November 2004.

I cannot, however, stress enough that while legislative measures such as the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act and the Intoxicating Liquor Act can help to curtail the problem of anti-social behaviour, they cannot be viewed as the only solution. In reality, it falls on all parties with an interest in this area to play their role in helping to address the problem of anti-social behaviour.

Question No. 141 answered with QuestionNo. 138.
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