With some 20 men killed in late-night assaults in two years, senior gardaí warn that street violence has become a major policing problem, writes Jim Cusack, Security Editor
The list of news stories on late-night homicides over the past two years contains shockingly familiar language. "A gang of youths attacked him; beaten to death near his home, possibly with a plank of wood; died from head injuries; found with head injuries near a building site; found in pool of blood; stabbed after leaving a party; found in a lane with head injuries; died from single stab wound; attacked after a row with a number of men; beaten about the head and found unconscious; died in hospital a short time after being found unconscious; head-butted and fell to the ground hitting his head again; after an assault outside a disco."
Then there are the inquest reports which more accurately report that death was due to "haemorrhage and contusion of the brain due to fractures of the skull".
In recent weeks, two young men have been so seriously assaulted in Cork city that both are on life-support machines. Both were assaulted and suffered terrible head injuries.
Mr Denis Franklin (20) was attacked in North Main Street as he was walking home from a party. Mr Franklin, a chemistry student from Limerick, is sharing a ward at Cork University Hospital with Mr Christian Scully (20), from Togher in Cork, who has remained in a coma since he was attacked as he walked home from the centre of Cork in late January.
On Friday morning, a 21-year-old student from Kilkenny was set on as he walked home after a night out in Dublin's Temple Bar to his accommodation in Phibsboro. He was found lying unconscious in the street in Eccles Place, beside the Mater Private Hospital, at around 5.45a.m. He suffered very serious head injuries, but regained consciousness at the weekend.
Gardaí say these types of attacks appear to have been increasing in recent years.
Under the old system of statistic-gathering, the Garda recorded between 100 and 200 very serious assaults - those which endanger life - each year. At least 80 per cent of these involved men, usually aged between their teens and 30s, assaulting other young men.
There were between 7,000 and 9,000 less serious assaults, and some 4,000 receive convictions each year on assault charges.
The introduction of the new computerised system for crime statistics is expected to show huge increases in the numbers of recorded assaults. According to one source, the new recording system might show a jump of 1,000 per cent in the number of assaults as it was previously normal practice only to record those assaults which were of a serious nature. Now every reported assault is recorded.
No matter what accounting system is used, gardaí appear to agree that late-night street violence is getting worse, particularly in provincial towns.
Gardaí say they have been taking the issue of street violence, or "public disorder", very seriously in recent years after the issue was highlighted by politicians and the media.
Every busy Garda district now has a "public order unit" with a van. It starts work on weekend evenings and continues into the early morning.
Experienced gardaí say the public order vans, containing a sergeant and three gardaí, are very effective in clearing disturbances. The arrival of a van has a psychological deterrent on gangs as they are not sure how many gardaí are inside and tend to disperse.
The public order van is also supported by the district patrol car and they can often work together if there is a large disturbance.
However, one Dublin officer said it was often difficult to get experienced gardaí to volunteer for Saturday night work when they were often most needed because the overtime allowance may be greatly reduced after tax.
Gardaí in provincial areas report the greatest increase in public order problems in recent years.
Some suggest the spread of recreational drugs, such as ecstasy, combined with consuming spirits with "energy" drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine, may be contributing to highly-volatile and violent behaviour. This has become the norm in some provincial town centres at weekends.
One senior officer said some experienced gardaí who never before showed any habit of shirking their work or responsibilities were now expressing concern that some town centres were becoming too dangerous to police with the resources available.
Another officer said the new system for preparing recruits has tended to make some young gardaí reluctant to become involved in policing street violence.
He said some of the new generation of recruits were concerned about complaints which were frequently made against gardaí after arrests following violence incidents.
If a complaint was made against a recruit the period of his or her probation was extended, which means an extended period at the lower salary of probationer garda. "It is easier for young guards to sit in the station and do nothing, " he said.