Jackboot response to crime scare

I AM deeply disturbed by the increasing number of Irish neo-fascists. Every time there is a murder they call for armed police, for the army to patrol the streets, for the removal of defendants’ rights and the brutalisation of prisoners. The way they go on, you would think Ireland was overrun by criminals and was about to become an anarchic failed state like Somalia.

The fact is that the crime rate in Ireland is very low. We have a murder rate of about one per 100,000 people. In contrast, Britain and the US have a murder rate of two and six per 100,000 people, respectively.

The Irish prison rate is about 85 per 100,000, which is the average for a modern western society.

In comparison, the rates for the UK and US are 140 and 710 per 100,000, respectively. The US is teeming with armed uniformed police and private security guards. Prison sentences are long and conditions are harsh, often little better than concentration camps.

Britain has a control-freak obsession with creating a surveillance society governed by CCTV cameras.

The government there is also considering a compulsory DNA database, internment of anyone who might (or might not) be a terrorist and biometric identity cards.

A liberal democracy depends on trust to survive. The people must trust the government and, in return, the government must trust its people.

A government that treats everyone as a suspect who must be tagged, scanned and monitored just in case he or she might commit an offence does not trust its people. Why should people trust such a government if there is no reciprocity?

Turning Ireland into a fascist police state will not reduce crime. All that will happen is that the thugs will be wearing police uniforms instead of tracksuits.

Jason Fitzharris

Rivervalley

Swords

Co Dublin