Public disorder and street crime in Galway city is being fuelled by negative publicity which suggests the situation is out of hand. "It is not out of hand, and never was," said Chief Supt Tom Monaghan, head of the Galway West Division. There has been no appreciable increase in street violence in the city over and above previous years, according to his figures.
However, there will be a crackdown on pubs and clubs which are not perceived to be making a real effort to prevent the sale of drugs or supplying alcohol to under-18s, Chief Supt Monaghan warned. Local authorities and other agencies must also play their part in terms of Galway's social environment, he said. Poor public lighting, lack of late-night public transport, later pub closing times and the environmental problems associated with late-night fast food outlets did not make for easy policing in the city.
"Galway city is either open 24 hours or it is not," he told The Irish Times. "If the people of Galway and local government decide it should be open - even for 20 of those 24 hours - then the other agencies involved in managing the city will have to provide the services such as public transport to cater for that, and not just the Garda on its own." When the new licensing laws came into effect earlier this year, the Garda in Galway successfully opposed the granting of exemptions to nightclubs until 2.30 a.m., with a half-hour's drinking-up time. "However, that may change, and the heart of Galway would then be alive until 4 a.m.
"It creates problems for us in rostering to ensure there is a presence on the streets," Chief Supt Monaghan said.
Recently, the Minister for the Marine and Galway West TD Mr Frank Fahey claimed that up to £400,000 worth of drugs was changing hands in Galway every week. And the head of casualty at University College Hospital, Galway (UCHG) described Eyre Square in the city centre as a "no-go" area, following a series of late-night assaults there in recent months, many of which, he said, were not reported.
The substantial population of under-35s in Galway city and higher levels of disposable income have created an obvious target for organised crime, particularly among drug-dealing groups based in Cork, Limerick and Dublin. In February last year, a regional drugs unit was set up at Mill Street station, under Det Sgt Gerry Roche, and it has had considerable success. Ecstasy and cannabis account for most of the seizures. However, Chief Supt Monaghan believes alcohol is the biggest cause of many social problems. A recent successful prosecution for selling alcohol to under-age purchasers was taken in his division - in Oughterard - and there will be more of these, he warned.
His division's busiest nights of the week are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and much of the street violence is alcohol-induced. In many cases, rows erupt among groups of friends, but prosecutions are taken under the 1994 Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, even if complaints are not filed. His statistics show no more than a 3 per cent rise in public order and street violence offences this year.
Responding to the recent comments by UCHG's head of casualty, he said there were no criteria in relation to accident and emergency statistics which could identify injured parties as victims or perpetrators.
"It should be remembered that occasionally some Garda members end up in the UCHG casualty department with both minor and serious injuries while trying to quell public disorder.
"Since I came to Galway seven-and-a-half years ago, the city, which has grown considerably, has continued to have a good police service, and one of my core goals is to continue to improve it - through high-visibility patrolling, crime prevention, crime investigation, reduction in traffic accidents, and combating drug trafficking," Chief Supt Monaghan said.
"In any one year, Galway city has 80 per cent of the crime in this division. I would like to have 80 per cent of my resources in the city, but the fact is that there are 39 stations in Galway West, and isolated communities in areas like Rosmuc, Woodford, Carna and Leenane are entitled to a police service also. The location and number of Garda stations is determined by the Minister for Justice, and there are over 700 of them which the Commissioner has to staff. This is no easy task."
In his view, Galway is still a safe city and a good place to live and socialise. "Hate crime", or racially induced crime, has not emerged as a problem as yet, though he could understand the fears harboured by groups working with asylum-seekers.
Contrary to popular perception, there is a comparatively low level of incidents during two of the city's busiest weeks of the year - the arts festival and race week.
Chief Supt Monaghan is concerned that false perceptions generated by inaccurate information and publicity can fuel unreal fears in communities. "I would be concerned that the image of Galway could be damaged unnecessarily by this kind of adverse publicity. There are no `no-go areas' in Galway - Eyre Square or anywhere else - and the Garda Siochana is determined that there never will be," he emphasised.