Gardaí the last buffer before ‘barbarianism’

A leading criminologist said the Government can significantly reduce crime by introducing mandatory minimum jail terms for murder and unlawful killings.

He told gardaí they were the only buffer left in Ireland “between chaos and order, between civilisation and barbarianism”.

John O’Keeffe also suggested alcohol abuse could be tackled by introducing US-style drunk tanks. The Trinity College Dublin lecturer yesterday told delegates at the Garda Representative Association conference in Athlone, Co Westmeath, that the Government could easily make the country a far safer place to live in and save millions of euro into the bargain.