THE MOST dangerous aspect of the murder of Limerick man Roy Collins is its capacity to sow in the public psyche the seeds of defeat: that the State’s most hardened criminals cannot be brought to justice, that anyone who stands against them will become a victim themselves, and that even if those who pull the trigger are apprehended, those who issued the orders to kill will never answer for their crimes.
Such a scenario runs counter to the norms of our society and it must be avoided. Because there can be no peace where intimidation rules, where people live in fear of crossing the paths of criminals who attach no value to human life, or where citizens turn a blind eye to wrongdoing because they are scared of the consequences of doing otherwise. Nor can gardaí provide effective policing where people are not prepared to co-operate with them. Law and order depends on active public support and communities must protect themselves by speaking out against those who would wreak havoc from within.
Roy Collins’s family have no doubt that he has paid the ultimate price for doing so. They believe he was targeted because his stepbrother gave evidence in a court case that led to the jailing of one of Limerick’s most notorious criminals. In the four years since, the family has been threatened and has received Garda protection. But there can be no guaranteed protection where criminals are prepared to be patient and to throw their net wide in selecting targets for retaliation.
Mr Collins’s father, Steve, implicitly addressed this issue yesterday when he spoke about the death of his son in a city which has borne witness to so much brutality as rival gangs battle for supremacy. He reflected on the impact of the threats on his family and the awful task now facing him: that of selecting a coffin. But, courageously, he said he still felt they had done the right thing. And therein lies the challenge at Government, community and individual level: how to do the right thing in the face of such intimidation and how to ensure that the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in tackling lesser criminals is matched in reaching those who are in control.
The answer lies in interwoven responsibilities, ranging from the recreational drug-user who must recognise the part he or she plays in funding crime, to the professionals who launder the proceeds of it. But the primary task rests with the Government in convincing the public that no one is beyond the rule of law.
In attempting to do so, it must proceed quickly to legalise the wire-taps and covert surveillance that will help to provide incriminating evidence against gang leaders. It has delayed too long in this regard already. And more broadly, it must bring forward the promised White Paper on crime which Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern announced in January would emerge from a two-year consultation process. This is a welcome initiative after a decade of legislative reform and by necessity will take time. But two years of discussion does not reflect the urgency required.