The number of juveniles coming before "adult courts" for serious indictable crime is up by a third this year, according to the Courts Service. A total of 60 teenagers aged under 18 years were sent forward for trial before judge and jury in the first nine months of 2004, the same number as for the whole of last year.
While violent crime is on the increase across all groups, the killing of juveniles by their peers remains rare. Prof Dermot Walsh, of the Centre for Criminal Justice in Limerick, says "an assault committed by a juvenile is shocking because it is so out of the ordinary. The underlying trend is that very few juveniles engage in this type of crime."
Prof Walsh, who is completing a major study on juvenile crime for the Department of Justice, says Garda figures show the majority of teenage criminals are involved in vandalism and larceny, mainly shoplifting. "In so far as there has been an increasing trend, it is in public order offences, and drunk and disorderly behaviour." In 2002, the most recent year for which the Garda has records, 16 people aged between 14 and 16 years were convicted for robberies of the person. This compares with 19 in 2000. There was just one conviction for manslaughter and none for murder in the same age category in 2002, while there were 24 assaults causing harm, an increase of eight on the previous year.
However, Prof Walsh says "statistics only tell part of the story". The Garda, for instance, does not keep figures on mobile phone theft. In the UK, legislation was rushed through parliament last year after police said mobile phone theft accounted for 50 per cent of street crime in London.
Mobile phone companies, which estimate that up to 2,000 sets are stolen in the Republic each week, are seeking similar legislation here. A Department of Justice spokesman says it is in discussions on the possibility of bringing forward legislation.
But Prof Walsh warns against "knee-jerk" changes in the law. Instead of creating new categories of offence, "what is needed is for people to take better care of their property, and for technology to develop so that stealing a mobile phone becomes useless".
According to gardaí, juvenile crime is at its highest between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., and in many cases alcohol is a factor. In 2002, referrals for drink-related offences increased by 23 per cent, and referrals for intoxication in a public place by 40 per cent.
Criminologist Dr Paul O'Mahoney says an added factor in serious crimes, such as assault or unlawful killing, is the carrying of weapons. "If knives are readily available, and if people get into violent situations, they will resort to them very quickly."