Ireland a more violent place, says Garda chief

INTERVIEW: Although successes continue in the fight against crime, the commissioner is concerned by a rise in gangland violence

IRELAND IS becoming a more violent country with more people than ever willing to resort to fatal shootings or stabbings to settle drug-related or personal disputes, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has said.

Recent murders committed by teenagers were an indication that the age profile of some of those engaging in extreme violence was getting lower.

In an interview, Murphy said that, although gangland murders were proving difficult to solve, the force was enjoying very considerable success fighting the drugs trade.

He also insisted the public were unaware of the number of fatal gun attacks that had been thwarted by gardaí after intelligence was gathered and preventive operations put in place.

"I see drugs as a key factor in crime," he said. "I can vouch for what the guards will be doing; we'll be focusing our efforts on the supply side. But I think there's a bigger problem here. We as a society, we as a nation, need to be working harder on the demand [side]."

Drugs were being seized daily, particularly cocaine and heroin, he said. Gardaí were also seizing large numbers of guns linked to the drugs trade.

"Life seems to be cheaper," he said of gangland murders. "These people are prepared to go further to establish their patch."

He said gardaí trying to fight the drugs trade were helped by the fact that gang members needed to transport often large quantities of drugs. This resulted in opportunities to intercept consignments.

However, fatal shootings like the double murder of Michael Cronin and James Moloney in Dublin last Wednesday could be carried out much more quickly and discreetly.

"People are using handguns in a lot of these shootings. They are easily concealed, small weapons."

If a killing was carried out, and the weapon disposed of and no forensic evidence left at the scene, the crime would be very difficult to solve. But he would not become "dispirited" because some crimes were hard to solve. Nor would he "bury [his] head in the sand" in relation to the amount of drugs still "swashing around".

The investigations in the 1990s into the murders of Veronica Guerin and Det Gerry McCabe were "tedious and painstaking" but had resulted in convictions. The inquiry into the murder of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick in November would be the same.

He believed a proposed ban on handguns would help Irish society from developing an entrenched gun culture. High-visibility community policing would also help people overcome the fear of giving evidence in court that could secure convictions against gangland criminals.

"I very much appreciate why people would be afraid to come forward," Mr Murphy said. "I would appreciate how difficult it would be for somebody to uproot from a local community and to go to live in another country [under the witness protection programme]."

He was not convinced the downturn in the economy would result in crime rates climbing higher. Some categories, such as burglary, had increased last year, but these always fluctuated "a percentage or two" from year to year.

Alcohol consumption was fuelling a lot of street violence and he welcomed measures in the Intoxicating Liquor Act that extended the Garda's powers to seize drink from young people.

He also believed mooted legislation on surveillance being used as evidence in court would aid the fight against organised gangs.

He said the decision to give all Garda members pepper sprays was a reflection of the increased level of assaults they were now dealing with.

He was greatly encouraged by the falling homicide rate; to 49 cases last year, compared with 78 in 2007. While this could be seen as a barometer on the effectiveness of the force, the number of gangland gun murders, at 19 last year, was a cause for concern.

The homicide rate last year was still too high. Many of the attacks last year and in 2007 involved the use of knives or were domestic killings. "I would be concerned about the propensity to resort to violence that seems to be out there, particularly among our young males," Mr Murphy said.

On knife crime, he said: "I was disappointed to note that over the Christmas period An Garda Síochána had to investigate a number of [stabbing or domestic] murders. I can't have a Garda member sitting in every living room in the country."

"There's no doubt about it, young people are prepared to be aggressive. It seems that frequently in recent times it's been taken to a higher level, particularly with a number of stabbings taking place."

He was hopeful a knife awareness campaign to be rolled out this year would help educate young people as to the dangers of carrying the weapons. The campaign would at first focus on Dublin, Cork and Limerick, three places where the need to tackle knife crime was greatest.