Gardai and judges are under serious threat from drug gangs, the Labour Party claimed today.
Launching its policy on criminal justice, the party also proposed a more vigorous pursuit of criminal's assets which, it said, should be reinvested in deprived communities.
Justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said in the past 10 years the detection rates for gun murders was just 16 per cent.
He said gang leaders were being sent the message that "if you kill or order the killing of others, there is little chance that you will face prosecution and even less chance of being convicted".
"Since [Minister for Justice] Michael McDowell made his particularly ill-judged comment about the 'last sting of a dying wasp' in November 2005, I estimate that 54 people have died in gun murders," Mr Howlin added.
Many, though not all, victims of gun murders were gang members, Mr Howlin said.
And he warned: "If the criminal gangs believe that they can get away with killing each other, it will be only a matter of time before a lawyer or a judge of a Garda or - as happened before, a journalist - will be singled out for assassination."
He proposed a series of measures to combat organised crime including:
- a crackdown on white collar crime including assisting with money laundering
- a reinvigorated and refunded National Drugs Strategy
- making gang membership a criminal offence
- the Criminal Assets Bureau and Garda Regional Drugs Units operating in conjunction with upgraded community policing system proving local intelligence
- changing rules of evidence to require the accused show suspect wealth is not the proceeds of crime
Mr Howlin said a key element of the strategy would be establishing a witness protection programme on a statutory basis with universally applied rules. This would address the legal uncertainty created in 2003 by Paul Ward's successful appeal for his conviction for murdering journalist Veronica Guerin.
Former Labour Party leader Ruairi Quinn said assets seized from criminals should be invested in disadvantaged communities, particularly those with severe drug problems.
"Seized money is initially frozen for a seven year period. As the money becomes unfrozen it should not be allowed disappear into the Department of Finance but should be ring-fenced for redistribution in the communities from which it was misappropriated," Mr Quinn said.
Such investment should not be used instead of existing funding, he stressed.