Drug users are 'participants' in crime, says McDowell

The Minister for Justice has warned that anyone who takes drugs of any type "participates in crime" and is helping to fund the profits of "vicious" gangs.

Releasing the crime figures for the first quarter of this year, Michael McDowell said the 8 per cent rise was very disappointing.

But he cautioned against interpreting a high percentage rise in murders as the result of gangland crime. He said the 12 murders in the quarter to March 31st this year included a number of very tragic cases, including the deaths of two young children in Dublin.

The 12 murders compare with seven in the same period in 2005.

"While the detection rate for murders remains in general high, the rise in gangland killings and the lower level of detection for them remains a cause of concern," Mr McDowell said.

There were  no cases of manslaughter recorded in the quarter.

Mr McDowell said some of the figures mask "quite considerable achievements by the gardaí".

"For instance, there have been spectacular achievements in breaking open the drug gang activities in recent times . . . huge seizures have been made. If you seize two or three million euros' worth of heroin or cocaine, it just goes down as a headline offence detected, one little tick on the box here, the same as the theft of a bicycle.

"So you have to remember that these figures have to be very carefully interpreted and I don't want to belittle in any way the huge successes that the gardaí have had in recent times in the fight against drugs. Drugs drive a lot of the crime against property," he said.

"I reiterate here . . . everyone who consumes any kind of drug, be it cocaine, be it the new crystal meth, marijuana or cannabis, anyone who consumes those substances participates in the world of crime and makes the task of the drug gangs more profitable, makes them more vicious and increases the likelihood that there will be burglaries and thefts and muggings to pay for that kind of offence."

The Minister said there was no evidence at present to suggest that crystal meth was a problem in Ireland, but he noted it was now popular in Britain and that at some stage he would expect such a trend to be established in Ireland.

Robbery from the person was up by some 22 per cent in the first quarter, with 388 cases of this type of crime recorded by the Garda. Theft from vehicles was up by 25 per cent, with some 3,621 such cases recorded. Both shoplifting crimes and burglary were up by 12 per cent in the quarter to the end of March.

However, other crimes showed a decrease, with sexual assault down by 42 per cent in the period. Recorded rapes were down by 9 per cent.

In the full year to March, some 56 people were murdered, a rise of 20 (56 per cent) on the previous year. Crimes classed as "abduction" were up by 22 per cent in the year - some 28 such cases were recorded.

Mr McDowell said he was pleased at the increase in the detection of possession of firearms offences (up 8 per cent) and a reduction in the offence of discharging a firearm (down 8 per cent).

He said Operation Anvil, the Garda's special operation against gangland crime and gun crime, had contributed significantly "to this encouraging development.

"From the introduction of Operation Anvil to 6th April, 377 firearms have been seized, which has a corresponding effect on their level of use. To date, Operation Anvil has resulted in more than 2,100 arrests for serious crimes, including murder and serious assaults."

Mr McDowell said the extension of Operation Anvil nationwide had already resulted in a number of arrests, the seizure of a substantial quantity of drugs and ammunition and the targeting of criminals who travel to parts of the country to commit burglaries and other offences.