Gardaí seek powers to crack down on child crime

GARDAÍ are asking for the power to detain parents who refuse to go to garda stations when their children are being held there.

Officers also want an offence of child corruption to deal with ‘Fagin-type’ adults who are using minors for crime, including drug-running, prostitution and paedophilia.

Garda representatives also say that they should be able to interrogate juveniles in the absence of their parents or guardians.

In a hard-hitting submission to the Government, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said the State was failing “miserably” to uphold the imperative to treat all children equally.

“Rigorous attention to juvenile crime is vital,” said AGSI president Joe Dirwan. “By taking stringent measures against such crime, society attempts to live up to its obligations to cherish the children and also hopefully reduces the incidence of adult crime.”

He said garda figures provided “ample proof” of the scale of juvenile crime, which included armed crime, rape and subversion.

Mr Dirwan also said that some parents were so drunk they could not attend garda stations with their child. He said gardaí should be able to detain these parents and bring them before a court.

While the problem has eased, gardaí, particularly outside Dublin, still had to look after children in garda stations in the absence of proper child-protection facilities, he added.

The AGSI also wants a change in the law requiring the presence of a “responsible adult” during questioning of a juvenile.

“Many gardaí working with young people report that it is now becoming impossible to find people to attend garda stations as their voluntary civic duty,” said Mr Dirwan.

He added: “Juveniles found committing serious crime should be obliged to supply samples regardless of when a guardian or responsible adult is available.” He said this covers drink or drug driving and suspected involvement in rape, murder and armed robbery.

The AGSI wants a new offence of corrupting a young person to cover ‘Fagin-type’ adults.

“They are using young children for burglaries, either to enter small windows or as lookouts,” said Mr Dirwan.

“At the more sinister end children are used as drug runners by drug lords and at the appalling end of the scale, children are being groomed for prostitution and paedophilia.”

He said gardaí should also have the power to detain children to establish their identity and that of their guardians.

The AGSI said the practice of paying school dropouts money to keep them attending courses should be reviewed because they were using the money to buy alcohol or drugs.

The AGSI also warned that the Juvenile Liaison Office was being “severely diluted” due to excessive paperwork.