Whatever happened to zero tolerance, Gail Dempsey wanted to know, when crimes like shoplifting, intimidation, vandalism and stolen cheque and credit-card fraud routinely go unpunished?
Yesterday morning it was the victims' turn to give their stories to the National Crime Forum in Dun Laoghaire. But amid the weighty submissions from the likes of Victim Support and Pax Christi, it was the personal stories of two women which had the forum members transfixed.
One of them, who asked that her name not be published, calmly recounted that she and her young son had been sexually assaulted by a local man in her home area in the west of Ireland.
Her problem was not just with the State agencies which "pushed her to the edges with little chance of a look in" when her complaint was investigated. It was also with neighbours who simply refused to accept that the crime she complained of could have happened.
"In our case it was that X was a decent man and he could not have sexually assaulted anyone. Well, people are correct. Decent people do not do such things, but X was not decent. He assaulted my beautiful little boy," she said.
Compared with that woman's story, Gail Dempsey's concerns might have seemed petty. But when she outlined the robberies, threats to staff, physical assaults, wanton damage to property and intimidation of her children which are a routine consequence of running a petrol station and shop in south Co Dublin, it was easy to see why she had developed, in her own words, "a siege mentality."
Ms Dempsey and her husband run the Riverside service station on Ballybrack Road, Shankill, where they are subjected "almost daily" to some kind of crime.
A "brief summary" of their sufferings over the years by the couple and their staff included:
Numerous smash-and-grabs, three last month alone. Weapons used included a machete, knives and iron bars, and the amounts taken varied from £40 to £500. No prosecutions followed, even though in two cases the assailants were recognised by staff.
Break-in at night. Staff member held up and £4,500 worth of cigarettes taken. No prosecution.
Ms Dempsey's husband held up by two men armed with shotguns while going to a night safe. £12,000 taken, but no prosecutions. On other occasions assaulted and bricks thrown through the window of his car.
Stolen cheques cashed by two local individuals. One prosecuted, the other not. "When I tackled her in the shop, she just said, `Why wasn't I prosecuted then?' I wrote to the Garda station to inquire why but received no reply."
Shoplifting. "We have tried to get more serious instances prosecuted, but without success."
Staff members threatened if shoplifting incidents reported to their employers.
Ms Dempsey's face slashed while ejecting an individual who had been barred from the shop. Stitches required.
Individual who stole briquettes and threatened Ms Dempsey given six-month sentence for that and other crimes. Served three weeks.
Forecourt - pumps, vacuum, fire extinguishers - vandalised on Christmas Eve before last. Shop broken into and "trashed", and cigarettes stolen on Christmas night. "We spent the remainder of Christmas night and St Stephen's Day trying to get the shutters and glass replaced."
Ms Dempsey's children threatened on the DART.
There were three things she wished to highlight, as they caused additional distress to victims.
First was the lack of communication from gardai, "and the frustration that after the initial report is made it often seems to fall into a black hole." Second was the accountability of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who was "answerable to no one," and third was the need for "meaningful sentences" for offenders.
