Garda sergeants and inspectors have called on the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to introduce a three-month minimum mandatory prison sentence for drug offenders convicted in district courts.
The call came yesterday at the third and final day of the Association of Garda Sergeants' and Inspectors' annual conference in Galway.
Many mid-ranking officers believe judges are too lenient in their sentencing and the drugs trade is flourishing in many parts of the country because the courts have failed to hand down sufficiently tough sentences to drug dealers. In an effort to ensure more uniformity in sentencing, the AGSI also wants judges to be subjected to a system of performance monitoring. There is currently limited accountability for judges.
Insp Jim Phelan of the AGSI Laois/Offaly branch successfully tabled the motion on the introduction of the mandatory minimum three-month sentence in the district court for any breach of Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. He said many sergeants and inspectors were frustrated at seeing drug dealers walking out of courts without receiving realistic punishment at a time when there was an increase in drug-related deaths. Drug dealing was a growing business in Ireland, as recent major drugs hauls had proven, and was inextricably linked to violent deaths.
"The sentencing practices of some district courts are not working," he told delegates. "The courts are not enforcing legislation. Many judges are taking a very sympathetic approach to drug dealers and the Probation Act is also being used too often. We have noted that other judges impose prison sentences and the number of drug dealers in their areas seems to decrease."
He added the courts needed to adopt a zero tolerance policy in relation to convicted drug dealers. The current approach was sending a clear message to drug dealers that there was no effective punishment even when they were convicted.
Mr Phelan said that while researching recent drug-related convictions in courts he found a prison sentence was only the fifth most common outcome of the cases he studied.
The most common outcome was for a suspect to be remanded to a definite date in the future. The Probation Act was the next most popular outcome followed by suspended prison sentences, fines and then prison sentences.
This week the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, himself conceded that organised crime is on the rise again. Much of that crime is drug-related and there has been a big increase in the use of cocaine in the State in recent times, which he described as "particularly worrying".
However, he said the gardaí had all the resources they needed to tackle the gangs. There had been six suspected gangland killings to date this year but Mr Byrne said developments could be expected on those cases.
