Sustaining faith in our society - Confronting boorish behaviour

THERE are few things that encourage a person to take a cynical view of our justice and policing systems as much as being a victim of a petty crime, have the perpetrators identified and admit their guilt, only to see them walk free without incurring any meaningful sanction for their behaviour.

Yet, that is the reality faced by taxi driver John Constant, 57, who was assaulted by one of a group of young men, one of whom got sick in his minivan. This criminal boorishness is the kind of unacceptable behaviour that can make a victim’s life more than unpleasant and, in this instance, dangerous.

Yet, even though one of Mr Constant’s attackers was identified, he was not brought to court, but rather given an official warning by gardaí. There are probably many reasons for this: The young man’s clean record, the inappropriateness of a custodial sentence, and the possibility of initiating the usual circus if a fine was imposed.

There must be a better way to register society’s intolerance for this kind of behaviour. Might it be possible for gardaí to impose a community work type sentence if a person pleads guilty to such an offence? If they contest the charge, then the courts always remain an option. It is understandable that these petty crimes often go unchallenged, but that does not make it right. Ordinary, law-abiding citizens deserve the State’s protection, because this is how a person’s faith in the system, and their respect for it, is sustained.