Written answers

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Department of Justice and Equality

Juvenile Offenders

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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91. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of juvenile offenders, the programmes under her remit to combat juvenile crime and the number of Garda Síochána juvenile liaison officers, by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11774/16]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Annual Reports of the Committee appointed to monitor the effectiveness of the Diversion Programme provide an overview of youth crime in the particular year in question. As such, the reports include details of, inter alia, the number of incidents and individual children and young people referred to the Diversion Programme and the outcomes of such referrals. The reports also include details in relation to the resources deployed by the Garda Commissioner to support the operation of the Programme.

Arrangements in relation to the publication of the 2014 Report of the Monitoring Committee are currently being finalised. In its 2014 Report the Committee reports that 9,991 children and young people were referred to the Diversion Programme. This compares with 10,420 children and young people referred in 2013 and continues the downward trend in the number of children and young people referred to the Programme in recent years. The Committee also reports that in 2014 there were one hundred and twenty three Juvenile Liaison Officers (JLO), including eight Sergeants. An Garda Síochána is compiling figures on the number of JLOs by county and this will be provided to the Deputy directly once completed.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Garda 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 Diversion Programme, through the network of JLOs, is to deal with young people who offend, by way of administering a formal or informal caution, thus diverting the young offender away from the Courts and minimising the likelihood of further offending. The Programme embraces, whenever possible, the principles of restorative justice and, at all times, pays the highest regard to the needs of victims. The Programme has proven to be highly successful in diverting children and young people away from crime by offering guidance and support to them and their families. This is evident from the continuing fall in the number of children and young people referred to the Programme in recent years.

The work of the JLOs is supported by my Department through the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS) which funds and oversees over 100 Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) across the country. In this regard the Programme for Government includes a commitment to extend the network of Garda Youth Diversion Projects for young people promoting restorative justice approaches. Six of the GYDPs currently funded by my Department also incorporate Local Drugs Task Force (LDTF) projects. GYDPs are community based multi-agency crime prevention initiatives which primarily seek to divert young people who have become involved in criminal or anti-social behaviour. There are currently one hundred and three of these projects in place nationally with an additional seven due to come into full operation very shortly. The projects aim to bring about the conditions whereby the behavioural patterns of young people towards law and order can develop and mature through positive interventions and interaction with the project. The projects are particularly targeted at 12-17 year old “at risk” youths in communities where a specific need has been identified and where there is a risk of them remaining within the criminal justice system.

In addition, the work of the Probation Service is supported through a national network of community based Young Person Probation Projects (YPPs) which are also funded by my Department through the IYJS. Nationally, there are 16 YPPs developing and delivering services to young offenders in their communities. The management and monitoring of the YPP projects is undertaken directly by the Probation Service. These projects offer services to offenders who would otherwise not be in a position to avail of a mainstream service opportunity, thereby enhancing the work of the Probation Service in changing offending behaviour. The services provided by YPP projects to young offenders in local communities include training and education programmes, offender management programmes, residential accommodation, and drug and alcohol treatment programmes, the purpose of which is to address offending behaviours and reduce the likelihood of re-offending.

Just under €17 million has been allocated in 2016 to the IYJS through my Department to support the operation of all of these community based projects. The funding to support the GYDPs and several YPPs is part supported by the Government and the European Social Fund as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020. In addition, some €2.8 million additional funding has been provided in 2016 to further support a number of Garda Síochána Youth Diversion and Probation Service projects under the Dormant Accounts Scheme.

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