We should not slavishly follow the examples of other countries in criminal justice, Mr Tom O'Malley, lecturer in law at UCG, warned the forum. Specifically, we should not follow the examples of recent developments in Britain and the US. "Two worse examples you would not find."
He regretted that crime had become a political football. "There are many ways to lose a parliamentary seat but the surest way of all is to abstain from regular, apoplectic declamations on the rapid descent of the country into a state of crime and lawlessness."
Because it was a relatively small country with a comparatively small crime problem, social stability and a well-developed legal system, Ireland could be a laboratory for prudent experiment in this area. He said the work of the Courts Commission, which has resulted in court reforms, was now being studied by other countries.
We should start by acknowledging the strength of our system, he said. The major strength lay in the people working in it. This included the police, which was one of the best police forces in the world, those in the Probation and Welfare Service, those working in the legal profession and the judiciary, as well as those in the voluntary sector.
He said there were also serious problems in our society. Some areas of our cities were being destroyed by drugs, the prison system was in a shambles, there was no meaningful effort to develop community-based sanctions and the probation service was under-funded and under-valued. There was also a serious lack of research while there were considerable data in the hands of the State.