The Gazette 1991

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GAZETTE JULY/AUGUST 1991
In
this
Issue
DCR personal injury
judgments series 226
Land Registry/Registry of
Deeds 231
People & Places 234
Vital Issues of Trade
Union Law 239
Lawbrief 245
Association of Pension
Lawyers 248
Executive Editor:
Mary Gaynor
Committee:
Eamonn G. Hall, Chairman
Michael V. O'Mahony, Vice-Chairman
John F. Buckley
Patrick McMahon
Advertising:
Seán Ó hOisín. Telephone: 305236
Fax: 3 0 7 8 60
Printing:
Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford.
The views expressed in this publication,
save where otherwise indicated, are the
views of the contributors and not
necessarily the views of the Council of
the Society.
The appearance of an advertisement in
this publication does not necessarily
indicate approval by the Society for the
product or service advertised.
Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7
Tel.: 710711. Telex: 31219. Fax: 710704
GAZETT INCORPORATE D
LAWSOCIET Y
OF IRELAND
Vol.85 No.6 July/August 1991
Viewpoint
Now that the problem of crime and
lawlessness has ceased to be a
political football in the local elect-
ions, the issue deserves some
serious consideration. Media re-
ports of suburban estates around
Dublin and an estate in Limerick
being at the mercy of lawless
gangs, coupled with the alleged
revival of drug dealing in urban
areas and the continual presence of
mugging and thefts from motorists
has only highlighted a growing
problem.
It is probably true that the break-
up of inner city communities and
their transposition to suburban
estates inhabited largely by young
married couples with children, has
created unbalanced communities.
High levels of unemployment in
these communities cannot but
make the situation worse. Lack of
parental control is alleged to be
widespread.
None of these problems is
capable of swift or simple solution
although, as has recently been
proposed the imposition of liability
on parents may be a starting point.
How successful it can be in an era
where family discipline is regarded
as an outmoded concept is another
question.
Our capital city after dark pres-
ents an unhappy sight. Metal grilles
protect almost all our shop fronts
presenting an image as unattractive
as many North American cities
which we would consider hot beds
of violence. Security guards man
the doors of many city centre busi-
ness premises whose proprietors
complain of high levels of shop
lifting.
Calls for the provision of more
prison spaces are surely directed at
the wrong end of the problem.
While there appears indeed to be a
scarcity of places in secure
accommodation for young offend-
ers, the provision of additional
prison accommodation for adult
offenders is no more a solution to
the problem of crime than the pro-
vision of additional graveyards
would be a solution to a problem of
disease.
Those seeking restrictions on bail
seem to happily ignore the fact that
our prisons cannot even hold con-
victed persons for the full length of
their sentences.
Problems of petty theft of goods
will never be solved until not only
can professional receivers be
identified and successfully pro-
secuted w i t h ease but until
"ordinary law abiding citizens"
stop buying videos, televisions and
other stolen goods in pubs or from
illicit sources. There must be a
greater emphasis on crime pre-
vention too. Are we sure that our
police patrolling methods, confined
as they seem to be to either foot
patrols or squad cars, are really an
efficient method of policing our
cities? If the thieves are on
mo t o r cyc l es why are Gardai
motorcyclists confined to traffic
duties.
It is time we took our cities back
and ensured that thieves are not
free to roam our city streets
cocking a snook at the forces of
law and order and the ordinary
citizens.
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