Perception of criminals walking free must change to restore confidence

WITH more than 100,000 indictable crimes now reported in the Republic every year, and with over 30 murders already this year, public concern about the crime situation is understandable.

As the whole issue of crime jumps to the top of the political agenda, the Government has responded by promulgating six anti crime Bills in a day. It is clear that the whole area of deterrence is central to any long term solution. And a central factor in this context is a review of the bail laws.

There is an understandable perception that far too many crimes are committed by offenders on bail and an acknowledgment that an insufficient deterrent exists.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, has rightly determined that a constitutional referendum in November should decide on bail reform and she proposes legislation setting out the crimes to be subject to changes in bail laws.

These would include murder, manslaughter, assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, as well as specified firearms, drug trafficking and sexual offences but not, apparently, robbery, burglary, larceny or lesser crimes.

In these categories the court may consider the nature of the offence, previous convictions and whether the accused has committed offences previously on bail. These, and the refusal of bail "where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence", is a significant departure from the O'Callaghan principles. It also thrusts a further, onerous responsibility on the Garda.

The Minister has gone beyond a more diluted version proposed by the Law Reform Commission. It suggested a "good behaviour condition", in granting bail.

While we tend to view any infringements of our constitutional rights with varying degrees of alarm, occasions exist where the attainment of the common good supersedes personal civil rights. One must question the current custody procedure, where it is not obligatory to answer any questions other than name, address and date of birth without access to a solicitor and beyond that only on legal advice.

The constitutional right to silence is having a major negative impact on the successful investigation of crime. Only persons detained under the Offences Against the State Act must account for their movements, although the Minister proposes to extend this in the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Bill which will restrict the right to silence, but only in serious drug dealing cases.

A Crime Bill, tabled by the Progressive Democrats earlier this year, proposing pre-trial questioning by a District Court judge and providing for discretionary "inferences" to be drawn by the trial judge arising from failure to answer such questions was defeated, which many put down to party political interests. Many people thought that such an inquisitorial system, commonplace in Europe, would help to restore some equilibrium.

It is futile to address the bail laws in the absence of a clear prisons policy. The 400 promised extra prison places should be viewed in the context of over 1,000 escapers at large.

The necessary Garda resources must be deployed to redress this, and there must be a more critical analysis of social outings for prisoners in jail for serious crimes.

The Law Reform Commission also referred to the court delays in bringing people to trial and while this has been addressed, in part, by introducing an extra session this year, a backlog of over 60 murder and rape cases remain to be tried.

Another area of urgent address is a consecutive, as opposed to a concurrent, sentencing policy. Many, including the Law Reform Commission, think the provisions of Section 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 are not being availed of by the judiciary, from a deterrence perspective.

Realistic capital expenditure on prisons is a priority and could result in a substantial saving of the £42,000 a year spent keeping each person in custody. Appropriate levels of rehabilitation must be provided and other Departments have a role to play in this socio-economic problem at its base level. A multi agency committee should be established.

Many are baffled at how often offenders are released without charge, pending the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Whatever the legal efficacy, many would argue that this policy has an aura of moral bankruptcy.

In bygone times the Garda instituted proceedings and consequently public concern was allayed. The perception of the criminal walking off free, even in the short term, must be laid to rest if public confidence is to be restored. Our legislators have a duty to ensure this.