Four crime-related deaths in as many days is a serious reflection on the Garda Síochána. Since the beginning of the year, one-third of the 35 violent deaths in this State have been directly linked to the supply, sale or use of illegal drugs. And while internecine struggles between criminal gangs may not impact directly on law-abiding citizens, the breakdown of law and order that they represent cannot be tolerated.
In his valedictory address at Templemore College yesterday, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, told recruits that the days when criminals believed they were untouchable had gone. He spoke about the need for the Garda to operate within a strict budget. And he explained that the delay in securing convictions for certain offences frequently arose from a difficulty in getting people to give evidence. Whatever about such sentiments, the new Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, faces a major task in rooting out drug-related crime and in locking up its godfathers.
Reform of the prison system should form part of that exercise. Last week's report by the State's first Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention, Mr Justice Kinlen, identified the counter-productive manner in which our penal system operates. The inspector was critical of the numbers sent to jail and remarked that, for many young people, prison offered a finishing school in criminality and an introduction to drugs. It cost the State €1,300 a week to keep such persons locked up. But, at the end of their prison sentence it released them, frequently as established drug-users, without accommodation or a structured source of income. Instead of solving a problem, it exacerbated it. That must change.
The need to reform the prison system and to modernise its institutions has been recognised for years. But the political will to take difficult decisions; to confront the various vested interests involved and to provide the necessary capital expenditure for new jails has been lacking. In his report, Mr Justice Kinlen expressed concern at the high cost of running the service; how little of the money was devoted to prisoners' needs; the top-heavy and inefficient nature of the administration and the unacceptable quality of prison accommodation. Physical conditions at Mountjoy Jail and Portlaoise Prison were so bad he recommended the buildings be demolished.
An opportunity now exists for the Coalition Government and the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, to address these issues as part of a campaign against serious crime. There is an urgent need to rehabilitate prisoners, to reduce the cost of administration and to cut the €60 million prison overtime bill.
Prison reform can no longer be gainsaid. And the Garda Síochána needs to employ more effective and sophisticated methods in targeting drugs-related crime. Mr McDowell must get on with the work.