Custodial sentences for anti-social behaviour should be ‘a last resort’

Non-criminal sanctions, particularly programmes in the area of restorative justice run by the Probation Service, may achieve greater success in dealing with anti-social behaviour offences, the business group Dublin Town has said.

Richard Guiney, chief executive of Dublin Town, which has some 2,000 members, mostly in the retail and hospitality sectors, said the organisation had found non-custodial sentences for offenders to be “a rewarding exercise”.

Mr Guiney paid tribute to the “tireless work” of the Garda, but said he recognised that “many of the root causes of anti-social behaviour are beyond the control or jurisdiction of gardaí and therefore require inclusive multi-agency responses”.

“We believe that the most effective way of addressing anti-social behaviour is to replace it with pro-social behaviour,” he said.

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Addressing the Oireachtas justice committee, which was discussing anti-social behaviour, Mr Guiney said the past 10 years had seen a number of successful initiatives which “give us confidence that we have it in our power to improve community well-being” .

He cited examples of successful interventions in Dublin such as the ‘Better City For All’ programme, which he said was an independently chaired, multi-stakeholder programme that aimed to address drug-related anti-social behaviour.

“There are legislative enhancements which could assist in creating a more welcoming environment. The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2011 could be tweaked to provide greater protection for the public, however, in essence we may achieve greater success by considering non-criminal sanctions,” he said.

Senator Lynn Ruane said issues like “safety” and “anti-social behaviour” were more nuanced when considered by the parties to anti-social behaviour. She said that while groups of youths gathering on street corners may seem intimidating and anti-social to some, to members of that group the constant presence of gardaí patrolling in cars could seem intimidating and be considered anti-social.

Senator Barry Ward said he agreed with a proposal from the Irish Penal Reform Trust that custodial sentences should be the “last resort” for anti-social behaviour. He said “all solutions other than custody should be tried first”.

However, he said he was not sure what information and training was available for judges to engage with the process effectively.

Molly Joyce, of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, said the organisation believed the Judicial Council, which seeks to promote confidence in the administration of justice, could have a role to play in providing support to judges.