Let’s recap the week, shall we? A brawl in Dubln Airport, where one man had his head stomped while a crowd watched, and security services were nowhere to be seen. An attack in Killarney by a gang of feral youths which left another youth injured. And now this, from somewhere in Dublin:
— Dubs life (@dubslife1) May 25, 2022
There’s been some speculation online that the individuals involved in the incident above are members of the travelling community, as if that “explains” it. But even if you are somebody who believes that travellers are more prone to this kind of carry on, that still wouldn’t address the bigger issue, which is that based on everything we know about Irish sentencing and Irish criminal laws, the people in the video would get away with their freedom, even if apprehended.
It’s easy to criticise the gardai, after all, but the most that they can do in situations like the above is show up, make a few arrests, and bring charges. After that, it’s over to the lawyers, and the familiar litany of “the accused is from a disadvantaged background m’lord, and has previously been of good character, and a non-custodial sentence is appropriate in this case”.
Why would the Gardai waste their time, when they’ll just have to arrest them again in a few months? It’s not surprising, really, that they end up waiting until somebody gets killed or gets life changing injuries. That’s about the first time a custodial sentence comes on the table.
This kind of light touch, non-intervention by the courts isn’t even only bad for victims. It’s also bad, in the long run, for the communities that these people are terrorising. The victims aren’t just those attacked on the street. They are also the young people who want to do well but end up sharing classrooms with thugs. They are the families who slowly realise that there’s no point complaining to the authorities, because all that it earns them is vengeance and ridicule and a sympathetic nod from the Gardai. And it’s bad for the young people involved themselves, who are consigned by our disinterest to a life of useless thuggery.
All of that, by the way, before we consider that we have yet to see any of these communities form vigilante groups to start policing their own streets. That isn’t unheard of in Ireland – older readers might remember concerned parents against drugs – and if it starts happening, then it will represent yet another failure of policing.
We either tolerate this kind of behaviour in Ireland, or we do not. This week has made clear that we very much do tolerate it. And because we are tolerating it, we are seeing more of it. This isn’t hard. The Minister for Justice, and her Government, are simply not doing their jobs.