Up to 1,000 children may have been lured into crime, report finds

As many as 1,000 children are being dragged into criminal behaviour by adult gangs and crime networks, a report which surveys Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers has estimated.

The report builds on a 2015 study based on a real location in Ireland given the name ‘Greentown’ which established that some children were being inculcated into criminal behaviour by adults.

The new report surveyed Garda JLOs around the country, receiving a 90% response rate, and finds that one in eight children in those programmes fit the same profile. Principal investigator Sean Redmond, who wrote the report along with researcher Catherine Naughton, said it was reasonable and conservative to estimate that as many as 1,000 children are being dragged into criminal behaviour.