Drug gang crime - Deadly times

Crime statistics may not confirm it but there is a sense that gang violence, especially that connected to drug dealing, has reached a new, savage level.

Melanie McCarthy McNamara’s recent death, when the teenager lost her life because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, was a particularly shocking instance. Tuesday night’s double murder in Kildare will do little to undermine the feeling that things are spiralling in a dangerous direction.

At a time when State resources are stretched as never before, it is important to be able to believe that everything that needs to be done to confront this menace is being done. Let us hope that it is.