Will the proposed Burglary Bill work?

The Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill, which was published by Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald this week, aims to tighten bail restrictions for offenders who have a previous conviction for home burglary, and have two or more pending charges.

It also requires a judge who decides to impose custodial sentences for multiple burglary offences committed within a 12-month window to impose such sentences consecutively rather than concurrently.

The average sentence for the offence at District Court, where the majority of burglary cases are heard, is just under six months.

Burglaries have been on the increase in Ireland in recent years; there were more than 27,500 in 2014, up by more than 10 per cent in the last 10 years.

Figures from the Garda Síochána Analysis Service indicate that 75 per cent of burglaries are committed by 25 per cent of burglars.

Ms Fitzgerald said the Bill will target this cohort of repeat offenders and has the potential to significantly reduce the number of burglaries being committed.

When judges approach a decision on whether to give bail, it is on the basis of a presumption of innocence. They can refuse bail if they are convinced defendants will disappear if released, or if there is a likelihood they will interfere with witnesses.

Judges can also refuse bail if they are convinced a serious crime may be committed by the defendant. To allow for this provision, there was a referendum held in 1996, stipulating that.

The proposed Bill has now added that the judge “shall consider” previous convictions for home burglary, along with pending charges or recent convictions, as evidence that an accused person is likely to commit further such crimes. It gives gardaí opposing bail another line of argument to present to the judge. It is an extra nudge and no more, meaning in practice it may not have a dramatic effect.

When imposing sentence in cases involving multiple burglaries, judges tend to run sentences concurrently. The Bill stipulates consecutive sentencing for burglars who have committed multiple offences over a year. This would mean a defendant convicted of three counts of burglary would be sentenced to serve 18 months in prison instead of the average six.

This could well result in more burglars spending longer in prison. The problem for the Prison Service may then be how to cope with the increased numbers. Who will have to be released early to fit them in?

Perhaps the question of offending while on bail could be better addressed through more stringent bail conditions and better policing of those conditions, rather than imprisoning persons before trial. This would require greater resources than simply introducing new legislation.