Garda boss says he’s not to blame for soaring crime
In a stormy exchange at a Dáil Justice Committee hearing yesterday, Commissioner Byrne rejected an accusation he was to blame for the dramatic rise in crime last year.
Fine Gael justice spokesman John Deasy said that since Commissioner Byrne took up his post, crime had increased in every category.
“Can you tell us why that is and what you are going to do about it?”
Elaborating further, Mr Deasy said people were losing confidence in the gardaí.
“Can you tell us why you should retain your post as Commissioner? You have been there for quite a few years,” he said.
But Commissioner Byrne hit back saying Mr Deasy had not checked his facts and accused him of asking a facetious question. After being appointed in 1996, in the first four years of his tenure headline crimes had dropped from 100,000 to 73,000 in 2000.
Acknowledging crime rates had increased since then, Commissioner Byrne said he had always said the gardaí should not take all the credit for the decrease and therefore cannot be entirely blamed for the recent increase.
“You are not talking to a politician. I am the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána,” he said.
Retorting that the level of crime was getting out of control, Mr Deasy said everyone wanted to know was what was being done.
At this point, committee chairman Seán Ardagh intervened asking Commissioner Byrne to move on to the next question.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Byrne said attempts by Continuity IRA members to raise funding for the organisation through working in the security industry and extortion of businessmen were being tackled.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem in the future,” he said.
Members of the Force who were also working in the security industry in their spare time were in complete breach of regulations and would be dealt with, Commissioner Byrne said. But double jobbing was not a major problem, he believed.
The gardaí were on target to have 12,200 members in the force, up from the present 11,900, Commissioner Byrne said.
The country was not under any particular threat from international terrorism, he said. The Gardaí were interacting on a daily basis with police and security services across Europe.
From dealing with the Troubles, the gardaí had learned a lot about dealing with international security agencies, Commissioner Byrne said.
The force was dealing with issues of achievement, performance and accountability every day.
“We are at times involved in taking risks for the right reasons. We must guard against complacency,” he said.
Commissioner Byrne told the committee it was important people realise the Garda Síochána is not just a law enforcement agency but also a security service. Headline crime had risen by 18% in 2001.
But experts said it was best to judge crime figures over a three-to-five year period, he said.
