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Itroduction
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is damaging our communities.
In Fine Gael, we believe it's time to tackle ASB once and for all: the citizen and the State working side by side. Our proposals fall in to five areas:
1. A tougher approach to ASB
2. Empowering communities
3. Changing the way our Gardaí work
4. Implementing new preventive measures
5. Underpinning the fight against ASB with legislative, administrative, political and financial support measures at a national level.
The proposals for debate by the public are set out briefly below. The full Discussion Paper can be downloaded on this page.
Getting tough on ASB
1. On-the-Spot Fines for ASB
We will give the Gardaí discretion to impose on-the-spot fines of €50 – €100 where a person is found engaging in ASB as defined in legislation. Fines imposed on under-18s will be payable by parents. In the event of parental refusal to pay, incremental deductions from earnings or social welfare payments will be made.
2. Compulsory Parenting Courses
We will extend the existing law so that a parenting order can be issued compelling parents to attend parenting courses or counselling, where the child has been the subject of an ASB Order (see below) and not only on conviction of a crime.
3. Anti-Social Behaviour Orders
Where a person is known to have engaged in ASB (e.g. harassment or intimidation) we will empower the courts to grant an order preventing him or her from frequenting a particular area, or associating with particular people.
4. Sale of spray paints
Under our proposals it will be an offence to sell spray paints to under 18s.
5. Curfew Orders
Fine Gael will allow the courts to impose two types of curfew order relating to people and place.
Firstly, the courts will be able to impose a curfew order on a particular person to ensure that he or she is prevented from either initiating or taking part in ASB. Secondly, in the case of clearly identified problem areas, the court will have the power to impose a curfew order on all under 18s within the limits of that area, for a limited time. These curfews will not apply to children accompanied by a responsible adult.
6. Garda Powers to curb ASB
Fine Gael will give the Gardaí powers to disperse groups of loitering young people in instances where their presence is likely to intimidate or harass passers-by.
7. Sale of Alcopops
Fine Gael will ban the sale of so-called alcopops in off-licences.
8. Penalties for Underage Drinking
The fine for supplying alcohol to under 18s will be doubled from €1,500 to at least €3,000.
9. Rapid Response Drugs Unit
Fine Gael proposes the formation of a designated Rapid Response Drugs Unit. This unit would guarantee immediate Garda response, even where incidents may be isolated, or in areas that are usually trouble free.
10. Drugs Court
The Drugs Court must be rolled out nationally. Instead of an offender being convicted immediately for drug misuse, they will have an opportunity to undergo treatment for a set period of time. If the offender refuses treatment they progress, instead, through the usual criminal-justice route.
Empowering Communities
11. Local Community-Garda Fora
We will set-up a series of community-Garda fora based on electoral wards throughout our towns and cities.
12. Local Area Adjudicators
Each town - and districts of larger towns and cities - will have a Local Area Adjudicator as an alternative to the criminal courts at local level for minor acts of ASB committed by young people.
Adjudicators will operate purely on the principles of Restorative Justice, with reparation and rehabilitation at its core. The person presiding could be an individual nominated by the Community Garda Forum and ratified by the Minister for Justice. The option remains for an offender to go before the courts as normal.
13. Disrepair and Dilapidation, Repair Orders
Fine Gael will amend the existing law to oblige the owners of defaced or dilapidated property (commercial and public) to repair any vandalism in public view within one week. If the repair is not carried out, the Local Authority will serve a Repair Notice, and if necessary, carry out the repairs, and except in exceptional circumstances, recover costs from the property owner.
14. Community Clean-Up Blitz
We propose that every local authority have a special, on-call unit – working with local community groups - dedicated to repairing damage in their area. Apart from the on-call element, these units would ‘blitz' areas that have become black-spots for graffiti and vandalism. These units would work closely with the Probation and Welfare Service and, as far as possible, involve offenders completing community service.
Change the way the Gardaí Work
15. Garda Support Resource
Fine Gael will establish a Garda Support Resource made up of civilians to act as a back-up to the Gardaí. Receiving modest pay, they will be used, primarily, to generate that desired high-visibility presence (especially at big public events) under the direction and supervision of the Gardaí. As they will not undergo the same level of training as a Garda, they will not have the same powers of arrest and so on.
A similar civilian force, the Police Community Support Officers, operates currently in England and Wales. In Ireland the FCA gives the Army access to 13,000 volunteers with extensive training and at an annual cost of less than €13m and the Civil Defence, with 6,000 members, also provides members of the public trained and willing to do their bit for society.
16. Overhaul of Garda Rostering
We must instigate a major review of Garda rostering patterns to ensure best use of resources so that the public can have the confidence of knowing that Gardaí will be on-site when and where they are needed most.
17. Technology Led Policing
Fine Gael will modernise, upgrade and extend the Garda communications systems. Gardaí must have access to state-of-the-art technology in protecting our communities, e.g. recording crime on a real-time basis through palm-top devices. Real-time reports allowing Gardaí to identify ‘hot' areas would allow them move from reaction to prevention by increasing their presence in the flagged trouble spots.
These statistics will include those on ASB for use each month in the community Garda Fora.
18. Juvenile Liaison Officers
The Juvenile Liason Scheme has worked well. Fine Gael is proposing to expand the service with the appointment of more Gardaí as Juvenile Liaison Officers.
Preventive Measures
19. Environmental Planning
Fine Gael will instruct local authorities to initiate routine consultations between local-authority planners and Gardaí, to discuss the best ways to minimise the potential for ASB in new and existing housing developments.
20. Volunteer Support & Mentoring Schemes
A number of support initiatives already exist for young people and their families such as Breakfast Clubs and Homework Clubs. Fine Gael will develop the undoubted potential of these types of services and implement them on a wider basis. Drawing directly on the experience of the Northern Ireland Volunteer Mentoring Forum, Fine Gael will develop best-practice mentoring schemes so interested adults can help local children reach their potential.
21. "Hang Out" Spots
Fine Gael wants to encourage the development of more alcohol free environments and facilities where younger people will be happy to spend time. We will encourage the development of ventures such as coffee shops and restaurants which are ‘teenager friendly' e.g. cheap coffee or snacks, computer game access, pool tables etc.
22. Anti-Social Tenants
Fine Gael will put in place National Standards and a Code of Conduct to deal with anti-social tenants. On being allocated housing, local-authority tenants should be subject to the same standard of behaviour applicable to private housing tenants. In addition, they will be obliged to sign an agreement saying they accept any conditions attached to the tenancy and the resultant consequences of a breach which may include fines for initial offences and eviction for the most extreme.
An intensive programme of intervention, based on a successful scheme in Scotland, will be put in place to deal with extremely difficult families.
Actions at National Level
23. New Minister of State responsible for Tackling ASB
We will appoint a Minister of State at the Department of An Taoiseach, who will have specific responsibility for co-ordinating and driving a campaign to tackle ASB.
24. Public Awareness Campaign
We will launch a comprehensive public-awareness campaign highlighting the effect of ASB on the wider community and galvanising support from that community for a comprehensive programme of action.
25. Dedicated ASB Fund
Fine Gael will set up a fund to support local initiatives aimed at tackling ASB, e.g. supporting youth activities which provide an alternative for young people, improving lighting in problem areas or cutting back overgrowth in parks and walkways. The fund will be administered by the proposed new Minister of State following a comprehensive audit of current spending in this area.
26. Listening to Communities
We intend to set up a Reportline for citizens to report instances of ASB. Right now, much ASB goes unreported and un-investigated because of its public ranking of ‘nuisance' and ‘annoyance', more than unlawful, and the fact that the Gardaí are occupied with more serious matters.
27. Measuring the Problem
To eradicate the problem, not just treat the symptoms, we need to assess the extent of it and its causes. Currently there is no specific classification of ASB, therefore no statistics have been compiled under such a heading. Our proposed new legislation will, for the first time, define clearly and simply what constitutes ASB.
28. Simplification of the Law
As part of this package we propose to enact new legislation to consolidate all law relating to ASB. Crucially, this new legislation will be framed in plain and simple language so that it can be accessible and understood by everyone - not just the lawyers.
29. The Children's Act 2001
Fine Gael is committed to urgently and fully implementing all provisions of the Children's Act which 4 years later has still not been fully commenced. If fully implemented and adequately resourced, the Act could serve as a valuable tool in tackling ASB. It would be particularly helpful in dealing in a constructive way with children who engage in ASB.
30. The Probation and Welfare Service
Central to Fine Gael's series of reforms is the expansion and enhancement of the role, and indeed the scale, of the Probation and Welfare Services as this body will be responsible for implementing many of the new measures we propose. Additional funding for these new measures will be provided according to needs identified.
Conclusion
Resourcing the fight against ASB
The absence of a central ASB fund means monies used to tackle the problem are currently sourced from several areas of Government and there is no coherent analysis of their effectiveness.
Current funding would appear to stand at approximately €25 million. Additional funding will be needed to tackle ASB. But that funding must be linked to clear policies, clear targets and clear outcomes.
A number of additional sources of funding are possible. €73million held by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) under the Proceeds of Crime Act, could be released over the years. Additional funding could come from the monies received under the Dormant Accounts Act and the National Lottery. Monies available under RAPID could also be made available for our purpose. The plans to introduce on-the-spot fines will also result in a steady stream of income, which will be used to fund this series of proposals.
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