A chara, - Bail in, bail out: separate the important from the urgent, and stick with the important. The important challenge is for those concerned about crime to get involved in local development, in the national anti poverty strategy, in the negotiations to replace the RCW. Other challenges lie in the process of integrating statutory services, to confront the Department of Justice's role as waste bin for failures of the education system, labour market policy, etc.
Within the services set up to deal with crime, rehabilitation programmes in prisons, and treatment facilities for drug and sex offenders in the community are a must. Irish criminal justice policy is vulnerable towards greater use of the prison sanction, while the options listed above can become the road to public safety. Is mise le meas,
PRO, Probation and Welfare
Branch,
Impact, Public Sector Union, c/o Smithfield Chambers,
Smithfield, Dublin 7.