Bernard Allen
Ceist:166 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Justice if he will outline the plans, if any, he has to improve the relationship between the gardaí and young people in view of the increase in the level of teenage crime in recent times.
Written Answers. - Garda Community Relations.
The Garda Síochána have always endeavoured to promote good relations between the force and all members of the community including young people. As part of the training, gardaí are encouraged to involve themselves in social and sporting organisations at community level so as to enable them to play a full part in the life of the community and build a sound relationship with young and adult members of the community.
In recent years a number of specific measures have been taken to build a closer relationship between gardaí and young people. The Garda community policing scheme places special emphasis on contact with young people in the organisation of youth events and involvement in youth clubs and other organisations which cater for young people. There are now community gardaí working in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway who have a special role in working with young people and the benefits of their work are already apparent in the areas in which they work.
Last year saw the implementation of the first reforms of the Garda juvenile liaison officer scheme since its inception in 1963. There is now a national juvenile office at Garda DMA Headquarters, Harcourt Square which co-ordinates and monitors the operation of the scheme throughout the country. Other new developments to make the scheme more effective in helping young people who become involved in crime include: a new and greater emphasis on the use of a caution rather than prosecution of young offenders; tailoring of Garda supervision to meet the individual needs of each juvenile; improved and extended training of juvenile liaison officers and rostering of juvenile liaison officers for night and weekend working to ensure better contact with parents and young people involved in the scheme.
The Garda schools programme is now in operation in primary schools in Tallaght, Coolock and Portmarnock in Dublin and will be extended to schools in Cork and Limerick later this year. The programme involves specially prepared classroom visits by selected and trained members of the gardaí with the purpose of helping young people to develop positive attitudes towards law enforcement and the gardaí. The schools involved have regular visits from the community gardaí based in their area who are involved in the scheme. The gardaí give talks on topics such as crime, vandalism and road safety, with particular emphasis on cycling, skateboards and motorcycles. They also discuss the grave risks to young people from alcohol and drugs and encourage them to develop a positive attitude towards their local environment. They are also encouraged to develop an understanding of the garda's role in their community.
In addition to JLO and schools programmes which are organised by the Garda authorities, there are also a number of community-based projects in which the gardaí co-operate with the probation and welfare service and statutory and non-statutory agencies in helping young people to steer clear of crime. These projects include the GRAFT project in Ronanstown, the KEY project in Killinarden, the WHAD project in Cherry Orchard and the Outreach project in Southill, Limerick. The co-operation of the different agencies in the running of these projects is indicative of the need — as is now recognised internationally — for a much wider response to juvenile crime than that which can be provided by the Garda Síochána on its own. This need for more broadly-based co-operation is also reflected in the involvement of Assistant Secretaries from the Departments of Justice, Education, Environment, Health, Labour and Social Welfare as well as representatives from Dublin County Council, Dublin Corporation and the IDA in the interdepartmental committee on crime problems in certain urban areas which was established last November. I am aware that the committee are currently focusing on the needs of young people in the Ronanstown area and that there will in due course look at the needs of young people in areas of Cork and Limerick cities.