Crime loophole - Bail fiasco needs to be confronted

SO, HALF of the serious crimes committed by people while they are on bail do not lead to a conviction, the offenders sometimes walk free.

Murder and rape, as well as drug dealing and robbery are just some of the headline offences for which those identified by gardaí as being the offenders escaped conviction. Over a two-year period, people on bail are believed to have committed almost 11,000 serious crimes, but only 5,178 convictions resulted.

The figures are contained in confidential Garda reports to the Department of Justice secured by the Irish Examiner only after the intervention of the Information Commissioner.

If the right of society to be protected from crime is to carry any weight these figures sadly suggest that our courts need to be far less generous in terms of granting bail. Though this might challenge the principle of innocent until proven guilty these figures are too powerful an indictment to be shrugged off.

Once again the rights of an individual to a fair and open trial must be balanced with the State’s obligation to secure ample protection for all its citizens.

One of the ways this difficulty might be eased would be if some of the great delays in bringing cases to court were reduced. There are too many instances of cases taking years to be heard. A more efficient justice system would go a long way to reducing the opportunities people on bail have to commit crime.

Maybe that simple conclusion is one of the reasons the Department of Justice originally fought an Irish Examiner request made under the Freedom of Information Act to see the reports.

This government may do something to reform bail laws and practices but its emasculation of the FOI is one of the legacies it cannot be proud of, a legacy that should concern anyone who believes in participatory and functioning democracy.

Cocaine campaign

Your life, your choice

A SURVEY published today to coincide with the launch of the National Cocaine Awareness Campaign shows a naivety bordering on stupidity among those who use the drug.

Most admit they are suffering financially and many admit cocaine is affecting their relationships.

Imagine, people are surprised that they can’t sustain a habit that costs hundreds of euro a day and, equally amazingly, some are surprised that using the drug has an impact on those with whom they share their lives.

This remove from reality suggests that there is a tremendous challenge facing the welcome and overdue National Cocaine Awareness Campaign.

Last month, Dublin city coroner Dr Brian Farrell said cocaine was involved in about a third of allinquests into drug-related deaths last year.

Late last year came the results of the second national population survey on drugs, which showed that cocaine use had virtually doubled.

Dr Brion Sweeney, clinical director of addiction services at the HSE, has already warned that our response to a growing drug crisis is inadequate.

Hopefully this initiative will go some considerable way to addressing that deficit and play a significant part in convincing people who think that using cocaine is a “fun” thing to do that, rather, it is a habit with lethal potential for themselves or their community.

However, the National Cocaine Awareness Campaign can only have so much influence and only one person is responsible for your position on cocaine.