Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 37: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the initiatives he has put in place to tackle knife crime; if such initiatives are subject to periodic evaluation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31450/09]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the additional steps he plans to take to combat the use of knives in assaults and murders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31153/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 66 together.

A comprehensive and robust legal framework is now in place in this area including heavy penalties for breaches of the laws concerned. The Garda Commissioner last year made recommendations to me in relation to knives and sharply pointed or bladed weapons, and subsequently the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 was enacted, further strengthening the law and responding to Garda concerns about knife crime. The maximum penalty for possessing a knife in a public place without good reason or lawful authority has been increased from one to five years, and An Garda Síochána have been given an extended power of search without warrant in relation to knives and offensive weapons.

In tandem with the new legislation, samurai swords have generally been banned from importation and sale.

Last February, the Garda Commissioner and I launched a Knife Awareness Campaign by An Garda Síochána to inform and educate young people on the dangers of carrying knives and with the aim of reducing the number of incidents of knife crime. Young people, mainly in their 20s, make up approximately one third of knife crime offenders. The campaign is therefore targeting a young male audience with messages about the dangers of knives and knife crime delivered through role models in both the sporting and media world. The campaign is featuring twelve road show meetings during 2009 which are complemented by targeted online advertising.

The roll out of the local road show meetings is supported by print and broadcast media initiatives that are designed to be specific to the locality of the meeting. The campaign is supported online by a dedicated website and a presence on social networking websites, as well as uploaded videos and a viral video. This will help deliver the campaign message through media that its target audience find accessible and feel comfortable with. Information leaflets on the campaign will also be made available to young people and their parents.

The campaign is linked with programmes which support youth workers on youth diversion projects, thereby enabling the campaign message to reach at-risk young people. This work is further strengthened by community Gardaí who, as part of their functions, visit schools to cover a number of topics such as underage drinking, drugs and bullying. These community Gardaí have been supplied with the necessary tools to bring the key messages of the campaign into schools around the country.

More generally, all members of An Garda Síochána proactively target public disorder and anti-social behaviour, including knife related crime. Areas identified as public order hot-spots by local Garda management are the subject of additional foot and mobile patrols. Incidents of public disorder and anti-social behaviour reported to the Garda authorities are the subject of investigation and are dealt with appropriately in accordance with the law. Almost 575,000 offences have been detected since the commencement of Operation Encounter, which was commenced by the then Commissioner in February, 2002 to target public disorder and anti-social behaviour against the local and business communities.

Statistics show that nearly one third of knife crimes occur in domestic settings and often with a degree of spontaneity, which increases the challenges of policing and enforcement.

The whole area of knives and knife crime is kept under constant review.