Geoghegan killing - We ignore this murder at our peril

Shane Geoghegan was a totally innocent young man who was gunned down as he walked home after watching the Ireland-Canada rugby match on television on Saturday night.

He was another innocent person caught in the crossfire of gangland violence.

There have been 16 murders this year attributed to gangland criminals. Eleven of those murders were in Dublin, four in Limerick, and one in Sligo. The phenomenon is spreading like organised crime.

People may not be very concerned about it, as long as the criminals are killing one another, but innocent people inevitably get caught in the crossfire, or are gunned down through a case of mistaken identity. A society that ignores murderous behaviour does so at its peril.

The Garda Síochána has been particularly effective in Limerick, despite the Government foot-dragging. Fianna Fáil came to power in 1997 promising “zero tolerance”, but the Garda are still being forced to fight growing crime with primitive techniques.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea said he was “absolutely shocked” by the killing of Mr Geoghegan. Like most of the authorities in Limerick, he is confident he knows who is responsible. Yet, he said new legislation is not needed to jail the perpetrators of such crimes. The Government has supposedly been considering the introduction of legislation that would authorise gardaí to use evidence in court that had been gathered by surveillance techniques such as judicially approved bugging. This has been particularly successful in fighting organised crime in Britain and the United States, but the promised action has, so far, been another of the Government’s growing list of empty promises.

It is also time something was done about the right to silence. People were accorded the right to silence for their own protection, but modern technology in the form of videotaping of interviews should provide protection against such abuse. It is absurd that gardaí are compelled to adopt primitive techniques to cope with criminals using the latest technology. Legislation has been promised to allow gardaí use videotaped evidence of interviews conducted in a Garda station. As it stands, however, the gardaí must write down all questions, and the answers, for such evidence to be used in court.

The technology is available to simplify the process, and it is absurd that it is not being used, especially when it would actually protect the person being interviewed. Videotaped evidence of interviews should not only be permitted in court, it should be required as a protection for all concerned.

Insisting that gardaí should not use either modern surveillance techniques, or videotaped interviews, makes no more sense than suggesting they should not use modern means of transportation. No right-minded person would suggest they should only be allowed chase criminals on foot or on a bicycle. It is just as absurd to compel the gardaí to waste time writing down questions and answers during interviews.

The Government should demonstrate a determined effort to crack down on crime gangs, because the criminals are becoming role models for gullible youngsters.