Gang cases drive surge in use of Special Criminal Court 

Senior gardaí have told this newspaper that they have found the legislation to be “particularly effective” in disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups. Picture: Niall Carson

Use of the non-jury Special Criminal Court has trebled over the last five years driven by prosecutions of gangland offences.

The surge comes as a high-level review group into the continued existence of the controversial court published an interim report on its work this week.

Demand for the Special Criminal Court (SCC) has increased,  particularly in the last two years, due to offences relating to involvement in an organised crime group, as set out in the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009.

The overall rise in cases before the three-judge court is despite a sharp reduction in prosecutions involving membership of a paramilitary organisation.

An analysis of Courts Service figures shows:

• Total offences before the SCC increased from 45 in 2015 to 70 in 2019 and jumped to 136 in 2020;

• ’Other’ offences (the bulk of them under the 2009 act) increased from three cases in 2015 to 49 cases in 2019, rising to 116 last year;

• Offence of membership of an illegal organisation fell from 24 in 2015 to one in 2018, two in 2019 and one in 2020 

The offence of possession of a firearm/ ammunition/ explosives has fluctuated, rising from 18 in 2015 to 25 in 2018, dropping to 14 in 2020.

The 2009 Act, which amended the Criminal Justice Act 2006, was introduced against a background of gangland violence and aimed at preventing intimidation of juries and witnesses.

New offences included participation in, or contributing to, an organised crime gang, directing gang activities or committing an offence for a criminal group.

The act automatically refers such prosecutions to the SCC unless the DPP otherwise directs.

Senior gardaí have told the Irish Examiner that they have found the legislation to be “particularly effective” in disrupting and dismantling organised crime groups.

Gardaí also said that while the laws have been extensively used in large scale prosecutions of Kinahan cartel associates they have also been utilised against gangs involved in economic crime, human trafficking and money laundering.

It is not clear why ‘membership’ prosecutions have dropped dramatically, given the continued threat from dissident republicans.

In December 2019, two men charged with membership were dramatically acquitted after the court challenged the basis of what is called 'belief evidence', where the opinion of a chief superintendent that an accused is a member of an unlawful organisation is taken as evidence.

The court ordered the chief superintendent of the Special Detective Unit to disclose the basis of his evidence, which he declined to do, citing safety concerns.

While this might dissuade the DPP from taking on such cases in 2020 (and into the future), it wouldn't explain the dramatic fall off in cases in 2018 and into 2019.

There has been long-running opposition from human rights groups, both domestically and internationally, to the non-jury court.