THE GOVERNMENT has taken strong, consistent and appropriate action in tackling knife crime in the past few months, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern insisted yesterday.
Responding to a spate of fatal and non-fatal knife attacks in Co Mayo and Co Wicklow in recent days, Mr Ahern said the incidents marked a worrying turn of events, but said legislation in relation to knives was “very strong”.
But he said that it would not be practical to impose a blanket ban on knives, as there were potentially lethal weapons to be found “in every house press in the country”.
He also pointed to crime statistics which have shown a decrease in the number of deaths from knife attacks in recent years. In 2005, there were 21 homicides involving knives. By contrast, the figure had fallen to 12 for 2008.
However, Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said that while knife-related homicides had fallen, the incidence of knife crime had increased by 300 per cent since 2003.
The Department of Justice later said Mr Flanagan’s statistics did not tally with its own. It acknowledged that knife crime had increased, but said the increase was a more modest 6.8 per cent. Its statistics related to a narrower period of three years, between 2005 and 2008, when headline incidents fell from 1,816 incidents to 1,699.
Mr Ahern said that the two pieces of criminal justice legislation passed by the Dáil before the summer recess had increased sanctions for those convicted of knife crime. He said the penalty for possessing weapons like knives had been increased to a maximum of five years; that powers of search without warning had been extended and that samurai swords were now banned. He said that his predecessor, Michael McDowell, had ordered a review of legislation regarding the use of knives in 2005 following a dramatic increase of knife crime in Britain. One of the outcomes of the review was a nationwide awareness campaign launched last February.
“If you look at the overall figures, there has not been a dramatic increase here. But every individual statistic is a problem,” said Mr Ahern.
“[Knife crime] in Ireland has not reached the epidemic proportions of the UK. But we are also conscious that if we do not nip it in the bud and send out a strong message to those who carry knives, we would be in dereliction of our own duty,” he added.
Mr Flanagan said it was a serious issue that needed to be tackled with a combination of strong legislation, visible community policing, stronger awareness and public meetings.
“The standard call is for more gardaí. Clearly we need more community gardaí,” said Mr Flanagan.
“Knife crime can only be tackled through a community-wide response. The gardaí are component of that. We also need to get the message across loud and clear that carrying knives around is a very dangerous exercise.
“We need a national campaign highlighting the dangers. We need public meetings aimed at community leaders, sports managers, teachers and those working with young people.
“The response to the worrying growth in knife crime must be co-ordinated across all Government departments,” said Mr Flanagan.