Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice: The former legal officer of the Criminal Assets Bureau, Mr Barry Galvin, has said lawlessness in the Republic is "unacceptably high" and that legislative changes being introduced by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, do not go far enough to address the situation.
He was also critical at the lack of resources available to An Garda Síochána, saying that "society at this time is suffering, and will continue to suffer".
Mr Galvin yesterday told the joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice that the odds of securing a prosecution in Irish courts are tilted 80:20 in favour of suspects. Ireland, he said, had failed to tackle repeat offenders, who were responsible for the majority of crime committed here. Some of the Irish procedures for catching criminals were so ineffective that police visiting from other countries "would laugh at you" on hearing how parts of the system work.
While the new Criminal Justice Bill, 2003, was to be welcomed, vital proposals had been omitted, he said. Shortcomings in the legislation include:
The forcible taking of DNA samples "just will not work". The maximum penalty of 12 months in prison for a suspect who refused to give a DNA sample would be the "easy option" for those accused of very serious offences which carried lengthy sentences.
It was "nonsense" that DNA samples should only be retained for 12 months and not indefinitely.
Any garda, not just those of inspector rank or higher, should be able to apply for a search warrant. And warrants should be granted in respect of any criminal investigation and not confined to "serious crime".
Compulsory periods of detention of up to at least 48 hours should be introduced in respect of suspects in criminal inquiries. Under the new legislation the maximum period will be 24 hours.
The "right to silence" was "necessary a century ago" but was now outdated. It is currently tilted in favour of the guilty and this should be addressed.
Garda powers of arrest are inconsistent and inadequate. "In this time of crisis in public order offences a guard has no power of arrest for assault (unless accompanied by harm) and no power of arrest for breach of the peace, unless it occurs in his/her presence."
Mr Galvin said between 1998 and 2001 the total value of property stolen in the Republic was €264 million, and just €19 million of this had been recovered. Yet "there is no study to my knowledge as to how many persons were responsible for the staggering amounts of stolen property".
Mr Joe Dirwan, president of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, told the committee his organisation "feels deeply that the scales of justice in this country are no longer balanced - that they are now tipped firmly in favour of the accused.
"We feel that intimidation of victims and witnesses is, contrary to what has been said previously to this committee, actually common in this country. The increase in intimidation has mirrored the rising tide of violence here."
He said the Irish legal system could learn much from the courts in Canada, where there is provision for taking of evidence in pre-trial proceedings and for those pre-trial statements to be available to courts no matter what the witness subsequently states. The Canadian system also allows the identity of witnesses not to be disclosed. Mr Dirwan described the right to silence as an "historical relic" which needed to be addressed.
"It is not a question of compelling anyone to speak, but of informing a court of a refusal and empowering the courts to draw inferences and to take appropriate judicial notice."
The AGSI said the force was seriously depleted nationwide. Many specialist units had been established in recent years and these had taken gardaí away from uniformed operations.
"For instance, today Pearse Street has a regular unit which consists of two sergeants and 22 gardaí. Eight years ago the same unit consisted of four sergeants and 32, and 17 years ago four sergeants and 36 (gardaí)," Mr Dirwan said.
