Dr. Johnny Connolly:

In terms of the links between drugs, alcohol and crime, there is a great deal of literature and research available. The Health Research Board has produced quite a bit of research on this area. Generally the link is understood using three models, one of which is psychopharmacological model. This relates to the product or the quality of the drug that contributes to violence. We have significant evidence that supports the link between alcohol and violent crime but not so much in respect of illicit drug use.

Recently, I was invited to talk at an event on benzodiazepine use among young people and the impact this was having on them in terms of forgetting their actions, for example, engaging in violence and forgetting about it the next day. The event was organised by youth workers. It is a very serious issue that is largely hidden but the consequences are not hidden, which is of concern in this area.

I was struck by Senator Black's point on the impact of trauma on work of gardaí because it was a major issue that the commission confronted in our work. We wrote a chapter calling for the introduction of a properly resourced wellness programme within the Garda and obligatory counselling to be provided following traumatic events. A programme is being rolled out in the organisation but we were very strongly of the view that it needs to be well resourced. We were struck in particular by the very high suicide rate in the Garda organisation on which data were published just before we reported. The Garda survey also highlighted the types of issues that were being confronted by gardaí.

One of the most positive features of the commission's report is that we discuss not only the prevention of crime but also the prevention of harm and responding to harm. Harm is often the result of a dual diagnosis, serious addiction issues or family trauma. As I mentioned, a recent report in the UK showed that 80% of police interactions involved non-crime events and usually involved vulnerable people with mental health issues, addiction issues, etc. That is what police organisations are doing on a day-to-day basis. Often they are doing it because other agencies may not be available after 5 p.m. That is the reality of police work and we have made it a central part of our work that people need to be trained in this. Gardaí are often the ones left to try and deal with these issues. They should be trained or, if not trained, they should be close enough to other agencies to be able to divert people to them. They understand the signs, for example, in cases of sexual violence issues, particularly associated with alcohol, which often arise. They need to have sufficiently close links with other organisations, be it in the addiction or sexual violence field, to ensure they do not do more harm in their initial reaction to the victim and can subsequently divert people to other organisations. That is central to what we are talking about in terms of a multi-agency approach.