Asbos are an example of policymaking by announcement. Is this how we make fundamental changes to the juvenile justice system, asks Diarmuid Kearney
The debate on Asbos has been gathering momentum for the last few months. Unfortunately, most of the language is negative about young people and their lifestyles. It seems that hardly a day goes by without reference to yobs, thugs and gurriers in the media.
This is a picture of young people that is completely at variance with the experience of youth workers. Are these the same young people who swell the ranks of the Young Scientists every year, who throng sports clubs and social activities, who voluntarily establish and run youth cafes, who participate in Dáil na nÓg and Comhairle na nÓg, who compete in our annual games and variety contests?
We need to reflect carefully on the language and message sent out by commentators in this debate. Young people, no more than any other group in society, deserve to be judged in a respectful way and on the basis of factual information.
Many commentators have said incorrectly that it is working-class people who support Asbos because of their experiences and some elite groups which oppose them. This is not borne out in youth work circles. Our views on Asbos are informed by the hundreds of projects run by volunteers and staff in the same working-class estates that many commentators never set foot in. Youth workers are at the coalface when young people get in trouble with the law. We know through experience there is a better way.
The essence of modern youth work is the empowerment of young people to make positive decisions in their lives whether on alcohol, drugs, relationships or antisocial behaviour. With extremely limited resources the sector, does vital work in some of the most disadvantaged communities in Ireland. Yet the statutory support for this work is minimal.
Although there have been some improvements recently there remains, for example, no support for proper youth facilities that would provide a real alternative to alcohol and antisocial behaviour.
Youth services in Galway, Kerry and Clare that provide full alcohol-free youth venues, endorsed by the Government's own Task Force on Alcohol, often do so on a hand-to-mouth basis with no clear dedicated funding.
The youth work sector is involved in Garda projects all around the State. These are at the heart of the preventive approach in Ireland. Garda research shows how successful and indeed cost-efficient these are.
They report that of the 137,000 people involved in projects, almost 88 per cent have reached the age of 18 without having been charged with a criminal offence.
It is hardly surprising then that the Garda Representative Association describes Asbos as merely legislative window-dressing and unnecessary.
Ironically, Mr McDowell's own department funds these projects. Experienced youth workers describe these as the most successful interventions in years for young people at risk.
The move towards Asbos raises fundamental questions about the direction of juvenile justice policy. It is a poor indicator of Government planning that the Minister announced them at the same time his department was reviewing juvenile justice policies.
The failure to implement fully the Children's Act has been extensively covered in this debate. Several submissions to the review cautioned against Asbos but the announcement was made before its completion. Indeed most of the policymaking in this area has been by way of announcement.
Asbos have not been brought before the Dáil despite the progress of the Criminal Justice Bill. No consultation has taken place with youth or community groups. The Minister has even announced changes and amendments before the scheme has actually been published.
He has not published or indicated the presence of any legal advice on some of the fundamental constitutional issues such as due process or compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights. Is this the way to make fundamental changes to our juvenile justice system?
The trends in dealing with young people involved in crime or antisocial behaviour internationally are away from detention and criminal sanction.
International human rights organisations, including the UN, have continually commented on our preference for detention of the young. St Patrick's Institution continues as a Dickensian response to complex modern-day behaviour.
Prison and places of detention are the universities of crime, and we should be doing everything to keep young people out of them, not introducing criminal sanction for civil transgressions.
Recent events have shown the importance of building confidence in our police force. Unfortunately, this is nowhere more true than among young people.
A February 2004 Irish Times/ TNS opinion poll showed that a majority of young people in the country did not believe "that the Garda carries out its role in a fair and impartial manner" and this view is more pronounced among "the less well-off C2DE social group" where Asbos have been used most in the Britain.
So what will these measures do to rebuild trust among young people in the Garda? The lack of community gardaí and juvenile liaison officers in areas where antisocial behaviour is most common surely exposes the shallowness of the Asbos response.
Of course the Minister cannot be apportioned all the blame. Opposition parties have been far too hasty to come to his aid on this issue. It is surely ironic that at a time when the main Opposition parties are putting together a proposed alternative government, they are supporting the Government in some of its most extreme policies.
The very least the Minister can do is consult people on his policies and publish his legal advice, if it exists. An even more basic minimum for everyone else in the debate is to back up their statements with facts and research and simply treat young people with the respect they deserve.
Diarmuid Kearney is chief executive of the National Youth Federation