Gangs bill was overdue

IT’S not about juries. When the non-jury Special Criminal Court was introduced in 1972, the prosecution still had to prove its case.

The significant difference was that the court could accept the word of a senior garda officer that the accused was a member of an illegal organisation and most, if not all, convictions stemmed from this.

The present bill seeks to extend this to membership of a criminal gang, something which should have been done a long time ago.