Tougher sentencing for knife crime to be signed off

Interventions similar to the knife amnesty in Glasgow should be introduced, said Catherine Murphy. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Cabinet is expected to sign off today on tougher sentences for knife crime.

Under planned amendments, the maximum sentence for serious knife offences would increase from five to seven years.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said that the penalty must match the crime when it comes to the increasing levels of knife crime.

Speaking on RTÉ radio on her way into Cabinet, Ms McEntee said it was necessary for legislation to reflect the seriousness of the crime.

“We currently have a sentence of up to five years for simple possession," she said.

"What we're doing now is reflecting the seriousness of a crime where someone takes a knife with them, with an intention to use this, where they trespass another person's property with a knife, and potentially the intention to use this, or where they produce a knife, again with an intention to use it.

This is an extremely serious crime, and we must ensure that the penalty matches the crime here.” 

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy told Morning Ireland that there needed to be greater investment in youth services and preventative measures after figures on knife crime released as part of a parliamentary question indicated that the quantity of knives being seized in every part of the country was “a cause for concern”, including 475 across both constituencies in Kildare over the past 10 years.

The figures “jumped off the page” she said. The number of knives seized were a fraction of the number that were being carried, she warned.

Interventions similar to the knife amnesty in Glasgow should be introduced, she urged.

“You make people feel that they don't need to carry it in the first instance for self-defense, by reducing the number of knives.

You can’t invest enough in youth work, that’s how you really address this in the long term.” 

Ms Murphy pointed out that the cost of “locking up somebody” for a year was €84,000 and that could instead be invested in prevention measures.

The issue was multi-layered and there needed to be significant deterrents to address the trend.

Further research on knife crime was needed, she said. For example, the definition of what is a knife should be clarified.

At present it was “a sharp implement”, but it could be a machete, a flick knife, a kitchen knife.

The reason so many young people were carrying such weapons was because they felt unsafe, for protection.

An amnesty would de-escalate the situation as would more investment in youth services and greater deterrents.

“We don’t have enough of those, not nearly enough.”