Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 432: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to tackle juvenile crime including knife carrying and anti social behaviour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9544/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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In tackling youth crime, the Government subscribes to the principles of the Children Act 2001, as amended, which set out an incremental process of diversion from the formal criminal justice system, community sanctions as alternatives to custody and detention as a measure of last resort. In the case of anti-social behaviour the diversion process includes the use of warnings, good behaviour contracts and anti-social behaviour orders, where appropriate.

The Diversion Programme operates in accordance with Part 4 of the Children Act 2001, as amended, and under the general superintendence and control of the Garda Commissioner. The aim of the Programme is to deal with children who offend, by way of administering a formal or informal caution, thus diverting the offender away from the courts and minimising the likelihood of further offending. The Programme has proven to be successful in diverting young offenders away from crime and anti-social behaviour by offering guidance and support to the young people and their families.

I am currently awaiting the submission by the Garda Commissioner of the 2010 Annual Report of the Committee appointed to monitor the effectiveness of the Diversion Programme. The report will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as possible after it is received.

The Programme for Government includes a number of significant commitments which will impact on youth crime. We will ensure that highly trained Gardaí are freed from administrative duties to concentrate on crime prevention and detection. To this end I will continue to support the changes currently being implemented to free Gardaí from the burden of administrative and financial management of Garda Youth Diversion Projects, thus allowing them to work more closely with the projects on crime reduction/prevention role. We will build on the existing community policing partnerships and forums to enhance trust between local communities and their Gardaí. We will attach a higher priority to community policing in order to deliver higher Garda visibility, within available resources, in the neighbourhoods worst affected. We will give a special emphasis to alternative programmes for young offenders through extensions to the Juvenile Liaison Officer Scheme and the Diversion Programme, and we will examine outcomes-based contracts with community organisations to help reduce re-offending by young people.

I will be considering the implementation of these measures in consultation with the Garda Commissioner and with my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in the context of the transfer of functions to her Department.