FF OUT OF TOUCH & OUT OF IDEAS ON CRIME
Friday, 04 May 2007
Responding to this morning’s launch of Fianna Fail’s ‘crime manifesto’ Labour Party Spokesperson on Justice, Brendan Howlin TD has said it is a bit rich for a party that has presided over ten year’s of ever-worsening crime, anti-social behaviour and gangland violence to say they will now tackle the crime epidemic.
“Fianna Fail is out of touch and out of ideas on how to tackle the crime crisis. And the Taoiseach, in particular, is in denial about the level of crime since he took office.
“At his Ard Fheis, Bertie Ahern, claimed ‘We are proud that, during our time in government, on almost every single measure, crime has been reduced.’
“However, the latest figures from the CSO reveal that in the past 12 months alone:
Possession of drugs for sale or supply increased by 20%
Assault causing harm increased by 7%
Theft from a shop increased by 7%
Arson increased by 19%
“Fianna Fail is fooling itself about the damage crime is doing to communities across the country. It has also run of out ideas on how to tackle this problem. The manifesto merely contains reheats of old policies that FF failed to deliver on in the past five years.
“For instance they promises to:
Increase civilianisation in the Gardai
Conduct regular analyses of Garda-to-population ratios
Set up a ‘Victims’ Council’
Provide the DPP with power to appeal sentences in the District Court
“All these promises were made, some word for word, in Fianna Fail’s 2002 manifesto. They failed to deliver them in the past five years, and are now trying to fool the electorate by hawking them around again. It’s pathetic.
“Unlike Fianna Fail, Labour has a focused policy to provide safer streets and safer communities. We will provide more community police and better policing that will make a real difference to families throughout the country.”
ENDS
For more information contact Brendan Howlin at 087 231 4671
www.labour.ie/press/
*FF Justice 2002 v 2007: Direct quotes from manifestoes
Civilianisation
2002: “Increase the number of civilians attached to the force so that trained police officers are released to operational duties tackling crime and defending our citizens.”
2007: “Rapidly improve the ratio of civilian staff to Garda officers across all areas of the organisation, including specialist areas, thereby releasing further Gardai to visible, frontline policing duties in the community.”
Garda Deployment
2002: “Conduct regular detailed analyses of Garda-to-population ratios to ensure every region in the country has appropriate policing.”
2007: “Conduct regular detailed analyses of Garda-to-population ratios to ensure every region in the country has appropriate policing.”
Victims
2002: “Establish a ‘Victim’s Council’”
2007: “Set up a ‘Victims Council’ to formulate victim policy”
District Court Appeals
2002: “Extend the power to the DPP to appeal against lenient sentences in serious cases before the District court”
2007: “Provide for the DPP to appeal against lenient sentences in the District Court and allow the DPP to make submissions at sentencing stage.”
CCTV
2002: “Extend the use of CCTV cameras and also grant aid local communities to provide them”
2007: “Increase the CCTV grant aid system for community groups and organisations as part of a nationwide CCTV rollout in all major county towns”
Prisons
2002: “Complete our programme of modernising the prisons and providing extra places”
2007: “Continue to invest in the modernisation of our prisons and ensure that our prisons meet current international standards”
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