Call for non-jury trials in gang crime

GARDA bosses want controversial gangland legislation to be expanded so that other serious crimes can be heard in the non-jury Special Criminal Court.

The staff body representing superintendents said the discovery recently of personal details of jury members in the home of a close associate of an accused meant it would become “more and more difficult” to get people to serve on juries.

The Association of Garda Superintendents (AGS) also called for all people arrested to be fingerprinted, in line with the proposed law on DNA samples.