Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I hope I am not tempting fate by saying that I have never been burgled but friends, members of my family and constituents of mine have been burgled and the common denominator is the sense of invasion. One normally thinks of one's home as one's sanctuary or refuge or a place of safety and comfort. When I listen to these people's stories I am constantly struck by how difficult it can be to regain a sense of security. Burglary is a violation of one's personal space and those who are burgled say they always have a sense of the intruder touching their personal possessions, which they find quite eerie. It can take quite some time before the person burgled can feel safe again.

In Dublin Central we have quite a number of community policing forum meetings where gardaí from the various stations give the crime statistics since the previous meeting. The stations are Store Street, Mountjoy, the Bridewell and Cabra and each will report on a number of burglaries. Sometimes they are up on the previous figure, sometimes they are down. At a meeting this week, the numbers were down and I would hope that Operation Thor is being successful in this regard. I acknowledge the work of the community gardaí. Their proactive contact, the advice they give and the circulars and leaflets they provide in their respective areas on how best to prevent burglaries are very welcome. Their availability is valuable and some stations have the text alert facility in order that people can let them know of suspicious activity or if houses or premises have been burgled in the area.

The pattern with burglaries is that there is no pattern. There is a wide variation and they can occur at any time. Those that occur during the night are particularly frightening, especially for older people. There have been examples of assault and violence. I was at a birthday party for a 102 year old man a couple of weeks ago who told me he had been burgled when he was in his 90s. He was living in senior citizen accommodation and, apart from the illegality of it, I find it completely immoral to target old folks' and senior citizens' residences deliberately because they know people in such places are vulnerable. There is a need in certain areas for better grants for people, especially those on low or limited income, to take precautions in the form of locks, chains, alarms CCTV, lights and panic buttons.

The Bill is about sentencing and reoffending by serial burglars but I will mention two other aspects. Those in possession of stolen goods are often young people, elderly people, people in addiction or people who are intimidated. There are others who knowingly buy stolen goods. PhoneWatch estimates that €48 million worth of property was taken from households in the past 12 months, which averages out at €1,870 in property from each household.

I acknowledge the work of the crime victims helpline for the emotional support and information they give and for the way they point victims of crime towards services they may need.

We have seen burglars in Dublin Central becoming quite sophisticated, acting as charity workers, workers from various companies, doing surveys or, as recently happened, posing as legitimate window repair workers who had permission to remove the window panels, which bypassed the alarms. Garda response and Garda resources are one aspect of the answer to burglaries and the Garda Síochána must be resourced to do the job. I listened to a report from the meeting in Trim this week and heard the frustration among gardaí over the fact that they are not resourced adequately but are still expected to do the job. There have been times when burglars had better technology than gardaí. Gardaí said that cuts to the force rather than the closure of stations had led to the increases in rural crime. The meeting also heard from victims of crime and people in communities who lived in constant fear because of their space being violated. One-person patrols are an issue. When dealing with young people there have to be two adults, but gardaí can go out to these situations on their own.

It is welcome that there are more recruits coming out of Templemore but not if they are simply filling the places of gardaí who have retired, because we need more. At the Cabra station, as well as having to look after the Cabra area, they have to provide gardaí to the President, to Áras an Uachtaráin, to Farmleigh and to the American ambassador's residence, all from a station which needs all the resources it has.

A question was asked about high-speed vehicles. Are the drivers of those vehicles trained to drive them?

Some elderly people in rural areas keep large sums of money in their homes and I think this comes from the lack of access to the local post office and banks due to closures. It may be that the closure of post offices and banks is having a more serious effect on rural crime than the closure of Garda stations. People would prefer to see gardaí on the streets. whether on foot or cycle patrol or in a car, rather than behind a desk.

We have discussed cash for gold and cars for cash and there were suggestions that these activities were contributing to crime. Do we know how much that may be happening? There is a need for a legal requirement to provide proof of ownership before selling on particular articles.

Article 40.4 of the Constitution speaks of the dwelling of every citizen being "inviolable" and "shall not be forcibly entered save in accordance with the law." Statistics show that this provision is not respected, as indicated by the increase in the number of burglaries, both aggravated and non-aggravated, and offences involving possession of an article with intent to burgle. How can the Bill act as a deterrent? The statistics show that 75% of burglaries are committed by 25% of burglars, with re-offending rates among people in prison for burglary and related offences standing at almost 80%. The conclusion one must draw from these figures is that current procedures do not work and will not bring an end to burglaries. Concurrent sentences are not an effective approach. If I were a burglar facing a three-year sentence, I would be inclined to commit a few more burglaries on the basis that I would receive the same sentence for multiple burglaries.

Continuing to lock people up without intervention does not work, nor should people be kept in prison for long periods on remand. While bail should be denied in certain circumstances, specifically when the person seeking bail has been found guilty of repeated violent offences, the practice of holding prisoners on remand for two or three years before bringing them before the courts is a denial of prompt and due process.

I have a difficulty with mandatory sentencing. The different circumstances that apply to each crime or criminal should be taken into account. I referred, for example, to the issue of intimidation. While this problem is primarily associated with drug crime, it has also spilled into other areas of crime. In certain areas, especially Dublin Central, intimidation is a very serious problem for families and individuals.

Recent burglaries involving the use of violence were horrific crimes and some involved appalling assaults on individuals and families. These crimes led to the introduction of this legislation and hours of debate on the punishment of criminals. It is necessary to consider the profile of burglars and criminals. In saying this, I am not condoning or excusing criminal behaviour, particularly violence. However, we know that prisoners tend to have a particular profile. Most come from similar socio-economic backgrounds and lack educational attainment as a result of early school leaving, which causes literacy problems. We also know there is dysfunction in the majority of prisoners' families and addiction issues are common. Many also have a propensity of violence, which if often related to the inability of the individuals in question to express themselves. In addition, the majority of prisoners in Mountjoy Prison and Wheatfield Prison are from three postal areas. The Minister of State will be familiar with the revolving door system from his time working in this area. Why are we not debating the need to tackle the issues as part of a discussion on prevention? We do not do prevention well in any area, whether health, addiction or crime.

If we are serious about tackling crime in a positive manner, as opposed to through punitive measures alone, we must consider approaches that work, including restorative justice and community courts. Restorative justice, which involves supporting the victim in meeting the perpetrator, is powerful in many cases. Positive research evidence is available on the effectiveness of community-based responses to crime and anti-social behaviour. Those who participate in restorative practice have been shown to be up to 40% less likely to re-offend. In that regard, we should bear in mind the number of burglars who re-offend. Between 80% and 90% of victims who participated in restorative justice programmes reported satisfaction with the outcomes. Speaking to a conference some time ago, the then Ombudsman for Children, Ms Emily Logan, noted that restorative justice encouraged the individual to take responsibility and supported a focus on solutions rather than blame. Restorative practice is not just the response to crime, but also a measure for preventing crime and giving people a greater sense of safety and belonging in their communities.

Community courts are also part of this process. In 2007, the National Crime Council chaired by Mr. Justice Michael Reilly, with the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Michael McDowell, issued a major report titled, Problem Solving Justice: The Case for Community Courts in Ireland. While the Government of the day responded positively to the report, the concept was abandoned when it fell. In January 2014, the Dublin City Business Association organised a seminar on community courts and made a presentation to the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, which was strongly in favour of community courts. The Secretary General of the Department and the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, were also positive about the concept. However, both men have since left their positions. The current Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, appears to be in favour of community courts and seems to support the idea of establishing a pilot community court in Dublin. The North Inner City Community Policing Board, of which I am a member, covers an area with significant levels of crime that produces a significant proportion of the prison population. It also supports community courts. What is the current position in respect of community courts? By using restorative justice practices, these courts would make a difference.

I share the view of the Irish Penal Reform Trust that judges should adopt an individualised approach. This means taking into account the circumstances of the accused and the offences with which he or she has been charged to ensure sentencing is strictly necessary and proportionate. The Bill appears to encourage judges to deny bail on the basis of very loose terms such as the likelihood of a person re-offending if released on bail. Judges are human, which means they are not infallible and cannot predict the future. Decisions on bail must, therefore, be based on evidence.

The message from some previous speakers seemed to be along the lines that we should bring back the gallows. While I have full sympathy for victims of crime, if we want to prevent crime, we must consider the reasons people get involved in crime, especially young people, and ways in which they can get out of the cycle of crime. The Irish Penal Reform Trust will hold a major meeting tomorrow which will be attended by members of the Care After Prison programme, CAP, run by the Carmelite Community Centre on Aungier Street, which works with prisoners when they leave prisons. The programme does amazing work and will demonstrate tomorrow that it is possible to rehabilitate former prisoners and help them to become useful members of society again.

I would love to live in a crime-free environment. I recall an era when people could leave their doors open or their keys in the door. The recent proliferation of gated communities is, therefore, a sad reflection on society. I encourage the Minister to move towards community courts, restorative justice practices and prevention.

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