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Anti-Social Behaviour

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 May 2018

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

Ceisteanna (30)

John Lahart

Ceist:

30. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set down the number of children and adults given anti-social behaviour warnings in 2016 and 2017; the number of antisocial behaviour orders sought in the same period by children and adults; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22888/18]

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Freagraí ó Béal (8 píosaí cainte)

The Minister concluded the last question by saying that he has made unprecedented levels of resources available to An Garda Síochána this year. I want to raise the question of the number of children and adults who have been given anti-social behaviour orders in 2016 and 2017 and the number of anti-social behaviour orders sought in the same period by children and adults. Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

I have circulated a reply to the Deputy with figures in tabular form. I hope he has a copy of it. They are the most readily available figures from An Garda Síochána on anti-social behaviour warnings. The figures are broken down by Garda region. I hope the Deputy finds the information useful.

I can assure Deputy Lahart that An Garda Síochána remains committed to tackling public disorder and anti-social behaviour by continuing to work with communities to reduce this type of behaviour and enhance community safety. The Garda approach includes a strong focus on quality-of-life issues and collaboration with local authorities, businesses, especially in the matter of the night-time economy, and other stakeholders to help address the causes of anti-social behaviour.

In setting up the ASBO regime in 2007, these interventions, including warnings, good behaviour contracts and referrals to the juvenile diversion programme, were intended to address the problem behaviour. The rationale was that if they succeeded, there would be no need to apply to the courts for an order. It was only if they failed to lead to a behaviour adjustment by the person in question that a court order would then be applied for.

It is widely acknowledged the use of anti-social behaviour orders is only suitable in certain limited circumstances. Indeed, it is only one crime prevention option open to An Garda Síochána in tackling this type of crime. As the Deputy will be aware, An Garda Síochána already employs a wide range of operational measures aimed at tackling public-order offences and anti-social behaviour. These measures are underpinned by a comprehensive legal framework. Of course, addressing local community concerns on public order and anti-social behaviour is a key focus in An Garda Síochána's national community policing model. A range of strong legislative provisions are available to An Garda Síochána in numerous legislative instruments recently enacted in the House.

I have got the figures. The metropolitan regions that concern me include Dublin southern and Dublin western. No anti-social behaviour orders were given out in those regions in 2017 or 2018.

When the Minister was the Opposition spokesperson for justice, he criticised the ASBO system as being too cumbersome to be effective. At the time, he commented on how the system had spectacularly underperformed. What has the Minister done to address this?

I have only received the figures in the past minute. In some of the regions the level of ASBO warnings has been spectacularly declining. Does the Minister believe the anti-social behaviour order mechanism has been a failure?

I am aware from my own constituency that community gardaí are the key to addressing anti-social behaviour. In 2010, there were almost 1,200 community gardaí in the State. Last year, there were 691. Given that the Garda Síochána and Deputy Flanagan, as Minister for Justice and Equality, have, as he stated, unprecedented resources to allocate to the force this year, can he make a statement to reassure people in different constituencies that every effort will be made in respect of the anti-social behaviour order, which is a significant mechanism available to the Garda Síochána at community level, to significantly improve the quality of life of law-abiding citizens, who account for 99% of the people and whose lives are seriously discomfited by anti-social behaviour?

I acknowledge Deputy Lahart's interest in this issue and, indeed, his expertise as a Dublin Deputy working in the community.

In response to his question about community policing, it plays a significant part in tackling anti-social behaviour. It plays a vital role in deterring all forms of crime. The unprecedented level of resources that this Government has made available to An Garda Síochána will ensure that the Garda Commissioner, in the matter of decision-making, will have that level of resources to deploy in a way that was not the case in the past.

From my perspective, community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána. It provides a means of recognising that every community, both urban and rural, has its own concerns and expectations. I welcome the strong emphasis in the modernisation and renewal programme on developing and supporting the ethos of community policing across the State and, indeed, in urban areas such as Deputy Lahart's constituency.

The Minister has not addressed my specific questions in relation to anti-social behaviour orders. I will give him some examples. In my constituency there are multiple low-grade examples of menacing anti-social behaviour. Both people living in local authority estates and people living in some private estates in my constituency want to leave because of the anti-social behaviour of neighbours or other teenagers and young people living in the constituency whose activities are simply not addressed by the Garda. Local authority tenants simply cannot bear to continue living where they are living because of anti-social behaviour and cars set on fire are making public parks unusable by the vast majority of residents who live in that area.

A few weeks ago, a serious incident took place at a DART station in Clongriffin where up to 20 young people, allegedly wearing balaclavas and armed with knives and lumps of wood, blocked the doors of a train at approximately 10.30 p.m. Other examples of anti-social behaviour in Killinarden in relation to buses caused Dublin Bus to withdraw some of the fleet for particular periods. There is a significant amount of low grade, and some high grade, menacing anti-social behaviour that is making residents' lives incredibly difficult. Will the Minister address specifically what he intends to do with regard to anti-social behaviour orders, whether they are working and whether the system is in need of overhaul?

I acknowledge the specific example that the Deputy gave with reference to recent unacceptable behaviour in Clongriffin. That type of activity has no place in a modern civilised society.

However, I do not agree with the Deputy if he is asserting that the anti-social behaviour legislation has been a failure.

The Minister asserted that.

I would point out that in addition to anti-social behaviour orders, we have strong provisions enacted in legislation. There is the Criminal Damage Act 1991, the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, which was amended in 2003, and the Intoxicating Liquor Acts, to name but a few. All these legislative provisions are constantly under review.

I assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána is proactively targeting public disorder and anti-social behaviour in communities. It is up to me to provide the resources for that and to ensure that the legislative provisions are in a position to act as a vital tool for An Garda Síochána in order that crime be detected, investigated and successfully prosecuted.

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