Sir, - The National Youth Federation is concerned that the forthcoming referendum on bail may be unnecessary, and could be seen to pander to a section of our society which would measure the quality of our criminal justice system wholly, or mainly, in terms of numbers detained in prison.
Based on the federation's own policy on juvenile justice, we would urge all those preparing toe vote in the referendum (and we encourage a large turnout) to consider the following:
1. The case for change is based on poor statistics - our own evidence would suggest that the 5,000 offences usually cited as being committed by people on bail are actually the "work" of no more than 100-200 individuals;
2. Most importantly, the proposal, if successful, will almost certainly be counter productive in terms of conveying a message about "getting tough" on crime where young people are concerned. There are only four remand beds for youths in Ireland - the system will therefore be unable to carry out its threat, and so will lose credibility;
3. The Government, in trying to give effect to the spirit of the amendment, seems likely to be forced to release convicted criminals earlier and to place young people in adult centres of detention, thereby effectively pushing them further into a life of crime. At this stage in the ongoing development of our justice system, it might be more helpful if a path such as that outlined in paragraph 8 of Mrs Owen's October 8th statement were to be proactively explored. This would be to strengthen the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 in relation to the imposition of consecutive sentences for offences committed while on bail; require persons going bail to guarantee the good behaviour of the accused while on bail, and allow for the forfeiture of bail in this regard. - Yours, etc.,
President,
National Youth Federation, 20 Lower Dominick Street,
Dublin 1.