Call for night court promises to be fulfilled

THE Government was called on yesterday to fulfil promises made last summer to set up special night courts to deal with spiralling alcohol-fuelled crime.

Night and weekend courts were set out in the agreed Programme for Government and formed a key part of the Minister of Justice’s strategy to combat drunken hooliganism.

Labour Party justice spokesman Joe Costello said the need for these courts had been underlined by the sheer number of late-night public order offences detected in the last year.

Figures published in the Irish Examiner yesterday showed more than 78,000 public order offences were detected under Operation Encounter between February 23 2002 and March 2 2003.

These included:

9,270 assaults.

33,800 cases of public drunkenness.

22,400 incidents of threatening or abusive behaviour.

“I am calling on the minister as a matter of priority to introduce night courts and weekend courts, especially given the upsurge in public order crimes,” said Mr Costello.

“These crimes are taking place at night time and at weekends, so obviously night courts and weekend courts are the ideal place to process these. Costs, paper work and police time would be reduced.”

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said yesterday an internal departmental working group on night courts had been set up and that it had been monitoring pilot programmes in Britain.

“Those pilots in Britain have finished and the working group is currently evaluating their success, and that report is expected shortly,” she said.

The British Government, however, dropped the idea of night courts after their pilot study, which cost 8 million, showed it was 40 times more expensive than using existing courts.

The Prison Service was also unable to take people receiving custodial sentences late at night, and said it would compromise prison security.

The courts also had to pay to have a judge, court clerks, security staff, police and probationary officers available at night, on overtime.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell will decide whether to add the proposal to his existing strategies to combat street disorder.

He is also awaiting the report of the Liquor Licensing Commission, which is studying the whole area of underage drinking and the sale of alcohol generally.

This is to be published early next month.

Strategy to combat drink abuse

THE Public Order Bill - due to be published in weeks, after being in the Dáil for 18 months - is the main plank of Michael McDowell’s strategy to combat alcohol abuse. It will:

Give courts power to close pubs, nightclubs, takeaways and venues associated with public disorder or excessive noise.

Give courts the power to order such premises to take security measures, such as installing CCTV cameras.

Allow judges to ban certain drinks, thought to cause problems, from sale in a pub or nightclub.

Give courts the power to ban a public order offender from the vicinity of a premises.

Under the forthcoming Intoxicating Liquor Bill the minister is also proposing to:

Ban under 18s from a pub or nightclub after 7pm or 8pm.

Give powers to local authorities to fix, within limits, opening hours for pubs and nightclubs.

Oblige people under 23 or 25 to carry identification cards for entry to pubs and nightclubs.

The minister has also requested Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne to ensure laws on the sale of alcohol to minors and to people already drunk be enforced more rigorously.

Health Minister Michael Martin has also set up a committee to make recommendations on alcohol advertising and sponsorship as well as promotions which might encourage binge drinking.