Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 December 2013
360. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the escalation of violence against members of the public and gardaí; and when he will act on this matter. [52700/13]
View answerI am, of course, concerned about the incidence of all crime, and violent crime in particular. However, I must draw the Deputy's attention to the official recorded crime statistics, published by the Central Statistics Office, which show reductions in 12 out of the 14 categories for which figures are given in the twelve months ending 30 June 2013. In relation to concerns about street crime the figures show a substantial reduction in public order offences of 14.6%. In addition, the incidence of assault causing harm fell by 9.3%.
The commitment of An Garda Síochána to tackling violent crimes is set out in the National Policing Plan for 2013 which includes objectives to address all forms of violent crime through strong enforcement and crime prevention strategies, working with all relevant partners. In this regard there is continuing Garda participation in a wide range of local fora, including Joint Policing Committees, partnership programmes such as Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch as well as recent innovations such as the Text Alert Scheme and the development of Garda community clinics.
The existing legislative framework provides substantial provisions to counteract this sort of crime including strong provisions under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Acts and the Intoxication Liquor Acts. In particular, the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003 provides the Gardaí with powers to deal with late night street violence and anti-social conduct attributable to excessive drinking and the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 gives further powers to the Gardaí to tackle misuse of alcohol. These include provisions to allow Gardaí seize alcohol to prevent underage drinking in public places and to forestall public disorder or damage to property.
In relation to violence aimed at the Gardaí themselves, there is specific legislation in place to deal with assaults of, or threats to, emergency workers in front line positions, including members of An Garda Síochána. This is contained in section 19 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) 1994 Act (as amended by section 185 Criminal Justice Act 2006) and provides penalties on summary conviction of a fine or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or both or, on conviction on indictment, of a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or both.
I am confident that An Garda Síochána will continue to deliver a robust and appropriate response to violent crime. In this regard I am advised that local Garda Management closely monitors the allocation of all resources in the context of crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies to ensure optimum use is made of Garda resources, and the best possible Garda service is provided to the public.
