Madam, - The decision by the Minister for Justice to allow more time for the debate on the rushed Criminal Justice Bill is very welcome (The Irish Times, April 6th).
It is vital that provisions restricting the due process protections afforded to accused persons should be closely scrutinised before becoming law.
However, a TNS/MRBI poll conducted for the Irish Penal Reform Trust (published April 5th) should also have a restraining effect on the Minister's rush to legislate, since it shows that the public do not believe tougher criminal laws will reduce crime.
When asked which initiative they would most like to see implemented to tackle crime, the largest number answered that they would opt for additional gardaí.
Others suggested recruiting more youth workers to deal with children at risk and creating more drug treatment places. Only 5 per cent chose building additional prison places as their preferred response.
This poll indicates that most people take a pragmatic approach to crime prevention - infinitely preferable to the punitive approach clearly favoured by this Minister. - Yours, etc ,
IVANA BACIK, Law School, Trinity College, Dublin 2.