Crime wave - Gun-toting criminals deserve jail

THE dramatic rise in gun crime and sexual offences, alarming trends highlighted in the latest figures from the gardaí, are a cause of grave concern for society.

Doubtless, what people will find alarming about the six-month statistical breakdown is the fact that crime levels are rising relentlessly across a range of serious offences.

In a troubling pattern, the use of firearms has soared by 60% and the rape of women is up by more than a quarter. There are now compelling reasons for Justice Minister Michael McDowell to crack down on the worrying use of guns.

Unless swift action is taken, armed gangs are in danger of turning Ireland into the Wild West.

The free-wheeling use of guns by criminals is intolerable. Partly due, no doubt, to a 15% rise in armed robberies from cash transit vans and a surge in thefts from people using ATM machines, this unacceptable trend flies in the face of law and order and threatens to undermine the democratic system.

Mr McDowell should not hesitate to introduce mandatory sentences for firearms offences. Any criminal caught with guns should end up behind bars.

Another alarming aspect of the crime scenario revealed in the latest garda figures was a 27% increase in the case of reported cases of rape of women.

However, according to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, the official figures are only part of the picture and do not reflect the reality of what is happening on the streets or in the home.

Anecdotally, less than one in every three sex crimes is reported to the gardaí and, on average, 20% of those cases are eventually dropped before they reach the courts.

Another frightening fact is that about 60% of rapes are committed by someone known to the victim. Ultimately, however, the adversarial nature of the Irish legal system makes it hard for a woman to go through with a case.

Further difficulties arise because the perpetrator is entitled to free legal aid, whereas the victim is confined to being a witness for the State. In effect, the system is not victim-friendly and there are compelling arguments for involving them to a much greater degree in the process.

Despite the best efforts of the gardaí, the published rape figures are merely the tip of the iceberg. What goes unseen provides a chilling insight into the changing face of Irish society.

Underlying the published figures is a glaring information gap which, in turn, conceals the ugly reality of sex crime in Ireland. There is an urgent need for a national survey so the true scale of sexual offences can be brought to light.

According to experts in this area, victims are more likely to report rape to the gardaí if the rapist was a stranger. Some 54% of women raped by strangers reported the crime to the gardaí, while only 17% of those raped by relatives or boyfriends reported the crime.

Overall, despite the explosion in gun crime and the rise in sexual crimes, the total of offences is down, thanks largely to the increasing success of garda operations.

In particular, the decline in the murder rate, the stabilisation of manslaughter cases and a 14% drop in public order offences are all welcome trends.