Crime fight 'hampered by lack of re-offending figures'

The Government cannot tackle the problem of crime because it has no figures for the level of re-offending, it was claimed tonight.

Fine Gael MEP and TD Gay Mitchell said it was pointless for the Government to continually bring in more criminal laws.

“If we do not identify the extent of the problem, how can we tackle it? Bringing in legislation, year in year out, will not solve the crime problem,” he said.

“Sixty pieces of criminal legislation have been passed since 1985 yet there are now fewer gardaí per head of population than there were 20 years ago, while headline crime has risen by 10%.”

In the US, two-thirds of those released from prison each year are arrested again within three years.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell, in response to a Dáil question from Mr Mitchell, said it was regrettable that figures relating to recidivism by prisoners were not available.

However, he said he had commissioned a major research project into the issue by the Institute of Criminology in UCD, which is due to be completed by 2007.

“It is hoped that the findings will present an accurate picture of recidivism which, in turn, will assist and shape the way we manage prison sentences in the future.”