THE major criminal gangs are no longer "untouchable" and will be confronted by the entire Garda Siochana led by its specialist units, including the bureau set up to find and seize criminal assets, the Garda Commissioner has said.
In an address yesterday Mr Pat Byrne also outlined his continuing reservations over the so-called "zero tolerance" policy which is being advocated as part of Fianna Fail's electoral package on crime.
Addressing the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) in Limerick, the Commissioner said the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), which had already identified and begun seizing property belonging to criminals worth millions of pounds, was engaged in an offensive against major criminals "who were beginning to feel untouchable. They are no more".
"It is important to remember," he said, "that the Criminal Assets Bureau is effective not only because of the dovetailing of the different agencies but also because it sits within the Garda structure with the head of the bureau reporting to the Garda commissioner on its functioning and performance.
"Being under the umbrella of the Garda Siochana, it has access to and, the support of all our specialist units." These specialist units included the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Garda National Drugs Unit, all of which have been set up in the past two years.
Referring to the issue of "zero tolerance" policing, Mr Byrne reiterated concerns expressed earlier at the conference about the effects of such measures on Irish society. He said the implementation of the policy in New York involved a severe approach to policing and necessitated an increase of several thousand police officers and extra prison spaces. It involved more coercion rather than policing by consent, on which the Garda has relied traditionally.
"Countries in which police are not acceptable to the people highlight the absolute necessity of retaining the support of the community, and a `zero tolerance' approach could put that acceptance at risk," he said.
"Any garda will testify that the Irish public can be persuaded to improve their ways without recourse to the courts. Young people cautioned under our Juvenile Liaison Officer scheme provide evidence of this, as does the success of gardai and parents in the rehabilitation of offenders, including drug abusers, without recourse to the courts."
"Should the Garda Siochana devote resources on a priority basis, or should we spread scarce resources in attempting to arrest and prosecute every offender?"
He would welcome a debate on the issues involved in zero-tolerance policing, including whether or not crime levels were sufficiently high to justify its application, if society was content with a threat to civil liberties and which section of the community should be most targeted.