THE Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, has called for a public debate on the law allowing crime suspects the right to silence during questioning.
He said yesterday that Garda investigations into terrorist- related or organised crime would be more successful if gardai did not have to warn suspects at the start of an interview that they had the right to say nothing.
The suggestion is expected to meet strong resistance from civil liberties groups, which argue that the right to silence is a vital protection against self-incrimination, particularly for people vulnerable to making inaccurate admissions under questioning.
Mr Byrne was commenting on the official publication of the Garda's crime report for 1996, which shows a 1.7 per cent fall in serious crimes compared to the previous year, the first reduction since 1989. He said the decline was continuing this year, with the crime rate 8 per cent lower for the first five months of 1997 compared to the same period in 1996.
Introducing the report, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said that despite the fall in crime there was no room for complacency".
He said he hoped that in future "more comprehensive information" about crime would be available. "There is a belief abroad that a degree of criminal activity remains unreported," he said:
However, the Commissioner said he believed his report was an accurate reflection of crime in the State.
There was a sharp increase in detected crimes by people on bail up to 6,956 last year from 5,440 in 1995.
Despite the overall fall in crime some types of offences are increasing, including crimes against tourists (up by nearly 400 to more than 4,000), syringe attacks and rape. There were 94 reports to the Garda of rape during the first five months of this year, compared to 79 for the same period last year.
Ms Olive Braiden, director of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said yesterday the true level of the crime appeared much higher, as only a third of rape victims calling to the centre reported the crime to the Garda.
Mr Byrne was asked about the Co Kerry rape victim who said this week she was leaving the State because of death threats following the conviction of the offender. He said: "If it's true that a victim of crime has been harassed or intimidated into leaving his or her home, that says something about that community."
Yesterday the Garda also began a campaign aimed at reducing deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents. A new Garda bureau has been created for the task and it will concentrate first on initiatives to reduce accidents in an area covering Louth and Meath, and parts of north Dublin and north Kildare.
Last year 453 people were killed and 13,000 injured in traffic accidents in the State.