James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the recording of information on the Garda IT system. As Minister, I have no role in these matters.

I have been informed by the Garda authorities that there is no one specific offence of knife crime as recorded in the PULSE system. When considering trends in knife-related crime, it is important to look at multiple perspectives to get the complete picture.

There are three key perspectives – the number of knives seized, the number of crimeincidents where a knife was involved, and the number of people discharged from hospitalfollowing an assault with a knife.

There are no quick-fix solutions to tackling knife crime. That said, the Government is very conscious of the dangers presented by knife crime. In line with a commitment in the Programme for Government, I established an Expert Forum on Anti-Social Behaviour.

The issue of knife crime has been examined by a subgroup of the Forum. The subgroup is assessing available evidence to inform policy on knife crime, with particular reference to effectiveness of proposals, to inform both legislation and community safety policies, programmes and practices.