Mr. Drew Harris:

Anecdote would suggest that in the 1980s and 1990s there was not the same adherence to the requirement for a prima faciecase. Where individual Garda members could see that a young person was going astray, he or she might be introduced to the scheme as an intervention. Some of the decrease in the numbers is due to the fact that we have been more strictly applying the requirements for a prima faciecase plus the young person's acceptance of his or her role in it. I am not entirely sure whether that is a good thing or not. It is not a bad thing to have an intervention before behaviour tips into an actual offence. That early intervention may entirely prevent any further reoffending. That is not to say that what happened in the past was incorrect. It seemed to work for a lot of people. That is not the process we have now, which is more codified.