It may be that this State is moving towards some kind of watershed on crime. For the first time in a quarter-century, public concern about the level of crime appears to be easing. Until recently, it appeared to be accepted that the level of reported crime would inevitably increase with every passing year, our society would become still more violent and our fear of crime would intensify. The latest crime figures, however, signal that the crime rate - as measured by Garda statistics - has declined appreciably. The number of reported crimes has declined by 10 per cent nationwide; the drop in some individual towns and cities is still higher. The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue - who, by comparison with some of his predecessors, has enjoyed something of a charmed life - will see the latest figures as a vindication of his "zero-tolerance " approach. There are, suddenly, fewer syringe attacks, fewer armed robberies, fewer assaults on tourists. In truth, Mr O'Donoghue has benefited from many of the initiatives set in train by his predecessor, Mrs Nora Owen. More than any other single initiative, the belated establishment of the Criminal Assets Bureau has helped to break up the major drugs gangs.
The Garda and the courts deserve some commendations. The success of Operation Dochas, the Garda's anti-drugs campaign which has been responsible for a string of convictions against some of the major drug dealers, is widely acknowledged. The tougher sentencing policy of the courts in relations to syringe attacks and a more determined move to remand in custody those who are deemed a danger to society, has helped to take a large number of potential offenders out of circulation. The dearth of adequate and detailed research on crime makes it difficult to explain precisely why crime is falling. It may be that the economic boom is acting as a rising tide - even in some of the most deprived areas of our major cities. It may be that the demographics are suddenly more favourable: fewer 18-25 year-old males makes for fewer crimes. What is clear is that the pattern in this State is broadly similar to that evident in Britain and the US where crime rates have also begun to fall. All three jurisdictions share a common policy framework best summed up by Mr Tony Blair's aphorism as being "tough on crime and on the causes of crime". Some progress is being made in tackling the causes of crime in this State, especially through educational initiatives directed at primary level and the early school-leaver. But there is still the sense that much of this work is desperately under-funded and/or fails to achieve the priority from policy-makers that it deserves. The buoyancy in the public finances gives this administration an unprecedented opportunity to achieve real change in those deprived areas of our major cities where idle hands turn to crime and violence: the opportunity must not be squandered.