Tighter laws needed to stop criminal gangs grooming vulnerable adults

Proposed offences to criminalise the ‘grooming’ of children by criminal gangs should be extended to include vulnerable adults, according to the State’s human rights body.

Proposed offences to criminalise the ‘grooming’ of children by criminal gangs should be extended to include vulnerable adults, according to the State’s human rights body.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said legislation going through the Oireachtas failed to recognise that drug networks may also target adults with disabilities.

The General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Exploitation of children in the commission of offences) Bill 2020 was published by the Department of Justice last January and has been examined by the Oireachtas justice committee.

The plans were in line with commitments in the programme for government and were on the back of calls from community drug groups for many years.

The new offence was to complement ongoing work by academics in the University of Limerick, funded by the Department of Justice, to develop programmes to intervene with attempts by crime networks to recruit children.

Under Irish law, children under the age of 14 can’t be held responsible for criminal activity (with exceptions for murder and serious offences), a fact exploited by local gangs.

In a submission to the Department of Justice on the general scheme, the commission points out the duties of the State under European and United Nations conventions to protect children from violence and exploitation.

The commission said what complicates possible legislation is where the adult grooming is a parent or older sibling of the children.

Criminalisation of grooming

It said criminalisation of grooming must be part of a wider approach, including further support for youth services, outreach services, addiction and mental health supports and family and community programmes.

The commission also calls for the minimum age of criminal responsibility for all offences – including the most serious – to be raised to 14 as an absolute minimum and that it should then be raised to 15 or 16.

A major recommendation in the submission is to include vulnerable adults along with children.

It noted research by the British Home Office also recognised that criminal gangs target adults with a physical or learning disability, mental health or substance misuse issues, as well as adults with prior experience of neglect, physical or sexual abuse, or experiencing homelessness.

“The commission recommends that consideration be given to addressing the exploitation of structurally vulnerable adults within the general scheme, including disabled people across all impairments,” it said.

It also said that, under the current provisions, children incited to engage in criminal activity may be prosecuted for any offence carried out and said there was a lack of clarity as to the degree to which being incited by an adult may operate as a partial or full legal defence.