Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

There is no doubt that it has made a considerable difference. That gardaí on bicycles can cross footpaths and go down alleyways means they can arrive at their destination without being spotted. One of the downsides of the use of very colourful Garda vehicles in urban areas is that they can be seen from a great distance. They are spotted before they come anywhere near the point of criminal activity and, by the time they arrive, the perpetrators are long gone. Addressing this aspect of Garda visibility is acutely important.

There is no doubt that there has been much development in co-operation with residential bodies and communities to fight crime more effectively. We started off on a bad footing with anti-drugs marches and other such initiatives. In some cases, it may have been a calculated objective of the organisers to present themselves as an alternative policing force. However, we have surmounted this problem. Through good leadership in the Dublin metropolitan area and through the work of successive assistant commissioners, we have made good progress. We have recognised that crime and anti-social behaviour need to be dealt with by society as a whole. We do the police a great disservice by lumbering upon them responsibility for everything dysfunctional in society.

The level of co-operation must be enhanced. Society's problems will not be solved by greater policing but would certainly be reduced by it. There are examples of good practice. The crime diversion projects have been in existence for a long time and have been very low-key but they are now well-integrated into the youth service.

It is a pity people talk about anti-social behaviour as if everybody is involved in it and as if every young person on the street walking in a group of five or six is guilty of it, whatever it might be. It is uncomfortable to have a group of seven to ten teenagers playing football on one's street or leaning against one's garden wall but, from my experience in youth work, I note that the vast majority of them are only up to what youngsters generally get up to, namely, talking rather loudly, playing rather loudly——

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