Probe into juvenile offenders getting off

A fresh Garda controversy is emerging concerning a nationwide problem of juvenile offenders involved in thousands of serious crimes “getting away with it”.

Gardaí confirmed to the Policing Authority that a major probe had so far identified almost 13,000 cases where they could not find that any action had been taken against juvenile offenders whose cases were deemed too serious for a youth diversion programme.

In total, the garda team, lead by Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy, is examining more than 21,000 cases over a seven-year period.