Justice must get tough on violence

THERE could hardly be a more chilling insight into the spiral of violence now ravaging the country than yesterday’s observation

In a damning comment on the inconsistency of judicial sentencing, former Detective Inspector Gerry O’Carroll, noted for his role in the fight against crime, strongly criticised some judges as “misguided” and accused them of having forgotten the essence of what justice is all about.

Increasingly, the public is concerned over the wide disparity of sentences handed down in the Irish courts. As often as not, the lack of consistency can be attributed to the failure by successive governments to create a level playing field in terms of sentencing policy.

In a most revealing interview on yesterday’s Marian Finucane programme, Mr O’Carroll spoke in blunt terms about the chronicle of death and killing in today’s Ireland, where countless teenagers, including his own son, have been the target of brutal, unprovoked assaults.

Yet, despite the fact that people are experiencing what can only be described as an orgy of mindless, gratuitous violence in cities and towns across the country, there is a disturbing lack of rationale about the prevailing sentencing policy.

As a result, according to Mr O’Carroll, there is no convincing deterrent for murder or manslaughter. Out of 70 murders which he dealt with in his career, only two of the perpetrators are behind bars.

Contributing in no small way to the current epidemic of violence is the lack of an effective garda presence on the streets. On any given night, there can be an alarming lack of gardaí on the beat in areas prone to violent incidences.

Inevitably, the prevalence of knives means people will be killed. Amid a virtual epidemic of stabbing incidents, there is a compelling case for rekindling the campaign to take knives off the street. A previous bid to outlaw them came to naught because politicians failed to run with the proposal. Arguably, the time is now ripe for a renewed drive to outlaw the carrying of such lethal weaponry.

Apart altogether from the area of violent crime, in recent times we have seen a worrying lack of consistency in the judicial approach to cases involving internet pornography. In the Tim Allen ruling, for instance, there was an outcry when a district court judge handed down a suspended sentence. Since then, other judges have opted to refer similar cases to a higher court for adjudication.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell, whose son was also viciously attacked in an unprovoked assault, would gain widespread public support for a crackdown on violent crime, including mandatory sentencing in certain cases.

Unless the Government is prepared to grasp the political nettle by taking a tougher stance on crimes against the person, the current spate of thuggery, stabbing and murder will escalate.

In serious cases of violence, there is a glaring need for mandatory sentencing. Otherwise, the spate of savage beatings will continue to spiral on our streets and more young people will be killed or end their days on life support systems.

Unless there is greater consistency of sentencing the Judiciary will go on sending out the wrong message about crimes of violence.