Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 April 2017
104. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the measures being put in place to strengthen supervision of prolific repeat offenders after they have served their prison sentence. [18661/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraProlific offenders may be subject to a range of supervision orders. These include Post Release Supervision orders under the Sex offender Act 2001 or Part-Suspended Sentence Supervision orders under the Criminal Justice Act 2006. In the management of these cases, the level of supervision in the community is determined by the level of risk indicated through the application of formal risk assessment instruments.
In an effort to strengthen the overall management of prolific offenders the Joint Agency Response to Crime initiative (J-ARC) was developed. J-ARC cases are managed on an inter-agency basis by An Garda Síochána, the Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service. J-ARC is a strategic response to the management of prioritised prolific offenders whereby a number of pilot initiatives have been developed to address their behaviour and reduce crime. J-ARC is operating with four inter-agency initiatives in Dublin and this has been extended to three additional areas i.e. Dundalk, Waterford and Limerick.
J-ARC has been incorporated into the first Joint Strategy on Offender Management which has been agreed between the Department of Justice and Equality, An Garda Síochána, The Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service and is in operation since September 2016. The Joint Strategy recognises that in order to protect the public and reduce victimisation in Irish society, a joined-up approach to the management of offenders is essential. The Strategy sets out a range of agreed key objectives and supporting actions for the enhanced management of offenders, to be advanced on an inter-agency basis in the period 2016-2018. It places particular emphasis on the management of high-volume offenders, sex offenders and perpetrators of domestic violence, combined with a strong focus on the rights and protection of crime victims.
