Report calls for local crime-prevention officers

A new report from the National Crime Council (NCC) hasrecommended putting a crime-prevention officer in each of the 34 city and county development boards to deal with local crime.

The report,

A Crime Prevention Strategy for Ireland

, proposes a National Crime Prevention Model (NCPM) with the 34 crime prevention officials at its centre.

These officers would report to a new National Crime Prevention Office under the jurdisdiction of a steering committee appointed by the Minister for Justice.

Mr Padraic White, NCC chairman, said if the recommendations in the report, which follows two years of research and consultation, were implemented, they would have a lasting impact on crime.

Mr White said using county and city development boards would limit the duplication of organisations and services. These boards already had an existing mandate for community development and crime could be added as one of its agendas.

He suggested a two-year trial period using three development boards involving city and county regions. This pilot scheme would be evaluated before the full scheme was begun in three year's time.

Tackling the root causes of social disadvantage is seen by the report as an essential part of any national crime-prevention strategy. Mr White said experience has shown that the longer children stay in education the less likely they are to enter a life of crime.

Mr White said the reduced pupil-teacher ratio must be extended to schools designated as "disadvantaged" by the Department of Education. He added that non-custodial sanctions for juvenile and adult offenders should be expanded.

Mr White said that the report had found "a gap between perceived policing needs as identified by gardaí and what local residents see as policing priorities".The Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Mr Noel Ahern, told ireland.comthe Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, had indicated he would be supportive of the pilot scheme.

He said there was a need to get a Garda presence into certain disadvantaged communities and to develop communication with residents in these areas.