Alcohol fuels 200 street crimes every day

ALMOST 200 alcohol-fuelled street crimes are being committed, on average, every day, garda figures show.

Statistics for Operation Encounter show there were 36,193 public order offences in the six months between August 2003 and February 2004.

In the same period, there were 3,830 assaults, or more than 20 a day. These include 1,188 cases of assault causing harm and 38 cases of assault causing serious harm.

Fine Gael said the level of casual violence was “horrific” and called on the Government to fulfil its election promise to recruit 2,000 extra gardaí.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) said confronting public disorder seemed like an “endless battle” for rank-and-file officers.

A breakdown of the other public order offences show there were:

15,064 cases of public drunkenness (82 incidents, on average, every day).

2,104 cases of disorderly conduct (11 every day).

10,148 cases of threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour (55 every day).

4,312 cases of failing to comply with a garda direction (24 every day).

219 cases of obstruction.

67 cases of selling alcohol to persons under 18.

389 cases of underage drinking.

The overall figure is down 1% on the previous six months and down 18% on August 2002, when figures were at their highest.

Operation Encounter was set up in February 2002 amid outrage at the level of drink-related violence on the streets late at night. The operation targets pubs, nightclubs and fast food outlets across the country.

Since it was established, the figures show more than 17,000 people, mainly young men, have been assaulted outside late-night venues. Of those, almost 5,300 people were harmed in the assault, while 230 were seriously injured.

“The figures are really quite horrific and pretty frightening,” said Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O’Keeffe. “We have a situation where public order offences are running at 200 every day, day in day out. This is a major serious issue for society. We are under-policed and are paying the price.”

GRA president Dermot O’Donnell said: “What these figures show is that there is a problem with public order and that gardaí are tackling it. But it is a recurring problem. The numbers are slightly down on the previous six months, but there is a long way to go.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said the Government was still committed to recruiting the 2,000 extra gardaí by the end of 2007. She said Minister Michael McDowell would be bringing a memo to Cabinet on the matter early in the autumn.

Mean streets

36,193 public order offences.

More than 20 assaults every day.

15,064 cases of public drunkenness.

4,312 cases of failing to comply with a garda direction.

Figures from August 2003 and February 2004.