Courts to allow full facts about a suspect's history
Wednesday December 20 2006
Details from the gardai about the likelihood of a gangland suspect to commit further crime if granted bail will also be granted evidential status.
And legislation introduced after the Omagh bomb atrocity in August 1998 is to be widened from terrorist-only crimes to include drugs and firearms offences to allow the courts to draw inferences from an accused's failure to answer reasonable questions while being interviewed by gardai.
These are some of the measures expected to emerge from an immediate review of criminal legislation by Tanaiste and Justice Minister Michael McDowell and his top advisers.
The legal reform programme was approved by the Government at yesterday's Cabinet meeting, which also gave the go-ahead to a series of other changes outlined by Mr McDowell.
The Tanaiste said later that he intended to place a substantial reform package before the Dail when it resumes in January.
He promised that all aspects of criminal law would be examined - as well as US anti-racketeering laws, which could be introduced here - including provisions dealing with threats, intimidation and use of the proceeds of crime.
He said new legislation on assets acquired through the profits of crime would be studied in conjunction with existing laws governing the Criminal Assets Bureau.
The aim of the legislative package, he added, was to strengthen the law against the threat which the gun and drug culture posed to our way of life.
The Tanaiste told the gang bosses and drug barons: "The resources of democracy will never be exhausted and will be used in increasing strength against those who breach the law."
After last week's series of attacks on the judiciary for failing to implement the bail law changes introduced after a referendum in 1996 or the 10-year minimum mandatory sentence for possession of drugs worth more than €13,000, the Tanaiste adopted a more conciliatory tone yesterday.
He had no doubt that the judiciary would be as concerned as anyone with difficulties arising from the operation of the bail laws.
The law changes were aimed at ensuring that the gardai were in a position to give the full facts about a suspect's history, his means of support and lifestyle and his propensity to commit crime if allowed out on bail.
An extra 29 staff are being allocated to the office of the DPP to speed up the preparation of the books for evidence for criminal trials while the DPP's powers of appeal against unduly lenient court decisions are also being studied.
The package sanctioned by the Government yesterday includes increasing the strength of the garda force to 15,000; extending the retirement age for gardai, sergeants and inspectors from 57 to 60 and an increase in the targeted strength of the reserve force from 900 to 1,500.
Advertising will begin tomorrow for 29 crime and policing analysts and 31 IT technicians to support the gardai, while the go-ahead for the purchase of the new digital radio system will be given by the Department of Finance in the coming days.
Response
But the Greens' justice spokesman Ciaran Cuffe described the measures as a damp squib and said all that had been offered were a few recycled stories and the promise of a legislative package, instead of a strong, effective response.
Fine Gael's justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe accused Mr McDowell of doing a u-turn on resources.
He accused the Tanaiste of stating at the weekend that resources were not an issue but was now allocating extra personnel to the force.
He said Mr McDowell had also failed to come up with any immediate plans to strengthen the bail laws and remained unconvinced that the promised legislative package in January would deliver the necessary changes.
Fine Gael and Labour have jointly proposed the setting up of an independent garda authority.
- Tom Brady
