Ms Bernie Meally:

I thank the committee for inviting the representatives of Foróige to speak at this meeting. I will focus on our experience of community policing. To outline the context, Foróige is a national youth development organisation whose purpose is to involve young people, consciously and actively, in their own development and the development of society. This is carried out through a range of supports, from universal volunteer led clubs to targeted interventions engaging with some of the most vulnerable and at-risk young people and families in the community. Our primary experience with community policing is through the provision of Garda youth diversion projects, GYDPs. There are 105 such projects nationally, managed by a range of community based organisations. Funded by the Irish Youth Justice Service, IYJS, Garda youth diversion projects are community based, multi-agency, youth crime prevention initiatives which primarily seek to divert young people involved in criminal or anti-social behaviour away from the criminal justice system by providing suitable activities to facilitate personal development, promote civic responsibility and improve long-term employability prospects. Foróige manages 42 GYDPs nationally and is also funded by the Irish Youth Justice Service to provide a range of supports to GYDPs through the GYDP best practice development team.

The community policing service provides vital support to many of the young people, families and communities with whom we work.

Community gardaí actively contribute to the diversion of young people from offending or further offending. This is done through building positive, trusting relationships in the community, engaging in partnerships with local agencies, both voluntary and statutory, and being visible and accessible. The role of community gardaí in early intervention and prevention of youth crime should not be underestimated. Children and young people tend to follow a pathway towards offending behaviour. There are also characteristics which make it possible to predict the likelihood of a young person offending. These developmental pathways and characteristics give families, communities and systems the opportunity to intervene and prevent the onset of criminal and anti-social behaviour while also building skills, strengths and resilience in young people. Focusing on the development of assets and strengths in young people while reducing the risks not only delivers positive outcomes for young people and families, but also contributes to the overall quality of life in a community and reduces the likelihood of the escalation of a young person's offending behaviour, thus reducing the burden of crime on society and the significant financial costs associated with that.

The research has clearly evidenced that the more contact a young person has with the justice system, the poorer his or her outcomes. It is important to intervene as soon as possible and as little as possible with a young person who is at risk of offending to bring about a change in his or her behaviour. Through their presence on the ground, the community garda can monitor behaviour and identify young people who may be at risk of offending before their behaviour escalates to the point that they come to the attention of their Garda colleagues. The community garda will often deal with incidents of anti-social behaviour in an informal manner with a young person, and this low level of intervention is enough to have a positive impact on his or her behaviour. Where a young person or family may require a greater level of intervention, the interagency approach of the community policing service allows community gardaí to make timely referrals to appropriate services which can meet the needs of the young people and their families.

Garda youth diversion projects have greatly benefitted from the relationship with community gardaí, particularly in relation to early intervention with young people. The partnership approach of the community gardaí has also been effective in identifying young people under the age of criminal responsibility who may be engaging in risky or anti-social behaviour. This has ensured that the appropriate supports are put in place for young people aged under 12 years and has allowed us to address their risks and needs at an earlier stage using their strengths and interests to build skills, increase protective factors and reduce the likelihood of future offending. Engagement with community gardaí has allowed for frank informed conversations, allowing us to monitor behaviour, respond quickly and appropriately and ensure better outcomes for young people.

Community gardaí contribute to youth projects and services and other community agencies in a wide variety of ways. By sitting on local committees they can contribute to a co-ordinated response to meeting community needs. Community gardaí in many areas support GYDPs to develop a comprehensive analysis of youth crime in their catchment area using both PULSE data and local knowledge, which ensures that plans are designed which meet the specific needs of the community and take into account the nuances of their particular context. Across the country, community gardaí are involved in delivering a range of educational programmes in both the school and community settings. These ensure that young people and communities are aware of their rights and responsibilities, but also build trust and relationships between community members and An Garda Síochána. It has been our experience that community gardaí have accompanied Irish Youth Justice Service workers on visits to families experiencing chaos and trauma, engaged with both mainstream and high-risk young people in a positive, meaningful and non-judgmental manner, and responded quickly and sensitively to young people and families in crisis.

In a police force in which there is a level of mistrust in many communities, community gardaí are the exception. As the visible, approachable and friendly face of An Garda Síochána, many young people and community members will reach out for help and advice from the person they have met at a local meeting, in the school corridor or community centre or walking through their estate before they would ever consider going to the local Garda station. The ability to access the support of community gardaí has benefitted many communities enormously from both a crime prevention and quality of life perspective. Those in the community policing service have managed to build positive and effective working relationships with the community, voluntary and statutory agencies working in partnership with them, but equally, if not more importantly, they have built positive personal relationships with community members, young and old.

Given the many benefits I have outlined, it has been disappointing to see the gradual erosion of community policing nationwide in recent years. Many Garda districts and divisions do not have a dedicated community policing service, which results in a system that is constantly firefighting and responding to issues as they arise, rather than proactively engaging in crime prevention and reduction measures.

Where community gardaí are present in communities, the benefits are tangible. However, with a reduction in resources and an increased demand, we have seen many community gardaí pulled out of community duties in response to front-line operational needs. This prioritisation of regular policing duties has resulted in a loss of the preventative work of relationship building within communities. Many community gardaí who have retired or moved position have not been replaced. We have seen at first hand the challenges for community gardaí who wish to have a greater level of engagement with communities, but because of the demands placed upon them can only now engage in an ad hocmanner. Many communities are suffering as a result of the reduction in resources put into community policing.

Where community policing plays a significant role in crime prevention, in our experience with Garda youth development projects the benefits in terms of targeting, early intervention, assessment of risk and need and achieving positive outcomes for young people are clear. Community gardaí identify young people at risk before they have been detected offending, often under the age of criminal responsibility. They support Irish Youth Justice Service workers to carry out assessments, engage with young people and families through the projects and deal with issues informally at a local level before they escalate. They support interventions in very practical ways as well as providing advice, support, information and educational programmes. Their partnership approach with community groups and other voluntary and statutory agencies ensures that community needs can be responded to in a co-ordinated and consistent manner leading to better outcomes for young people, families and communities. The main challenges that we see are the lack of resources put into community policing in recent years, the absence of a service in many areas and the tendency, where there is a service, to direct community gardaí to prioritise front-line operational duties to the detriment of their community duties.

Owing to the vital role community gardaí play in early intervention and crime prevention, Foróige strongly advocates that appropriate and adequate community policing resources be allocated in every Garda division and district in order that all communities can benefit from the service. Foróige welcomes the new community policing framework and the establishment of the new community policing offices in the 28 Garda divisions. This is a positive development and we are hopeful it will support the allocation of appropriate resources to this essential community service.