The murder of Mrs Joan Casey in Tallaght brings into sharp relief the nature of our response to violent crime and demonstrates again the grave risks associated with tempering the intensity of that response on the basis of a perceived hierarchy of victims.
The years prior to the murder of Veronica Guerin in 1996 were marked by a rising tolerance of violence. An increasingly brutal spiral of events was characterised by gardaí as merely criminals falling out among themselves. To a large extent, the wider community acquiesced in the apparently mistaken belief that they would not be affected. But the culture of acceptance contributed to a sense amongst the most violent elements of society that there were no limits to what they could get away with.
The public and political reaction to the death of Ms Guerin abruptly arrested this decline. A clear message was delivered to those involved: their activities would be tolerated no longer, they would be tracked down and their assets would be traced and confiscated. But time has diminished that zeal. The relatively mute response to a series of violent deaths in recent times indicates that society has grown accustomed again to such acts. The complacency involved is more evident where the victims can be shown to have had some involvement in crime, no matter how minor.
The risks of this approach are as grave now as they were in the early and mid-90s. For such violence cannot be neatly contained. It escalates in an insidious and remorseless way. Guns become more pervasive - being used in circumstances in which they would never have been seen before - and the value accorded to human life is reduced. And, ultimately, the wider community is affected as the people of Tallaght in west Dublin found to their cost on Saturday.
Mrs Joan Casey was in her home at Avonbeg Park in the early morning when two men, one armed with a shotgun, forced their way in. She died after being shot in the chest. Gardaí said yesterday that she appeared to have been a victim of mistaken identity. Neighbours spoke eloquently about Mrs Casey, her civic mindedness and her devotion to the local St Dominic's Church.
The nature of the State's response to crime correctly gives rise to complex debate. It is unfortunate, however, that those in authority have consistently lacked the will to bring such discussions to a fruitful conclusion straddling the diverse elements of the criminal justice system. Indeed, an effective response only appears to follow the most grievous violence.
What is clear at a minimum is that the Government must honour its commitment to provide more gardaí and that the garda authorities must ensure that the resources available to them are efficiently managed and fully motivated. More fundamentally, however, society at large must make clear that there is no such thing as an acceptable or tolerable level of violence. It is in our own self-interest to do so.