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With murders, drug arrests and gun
crimes all spiralling last year, the Green Party accused the
Minister for Justice of failing to deal effectively with organised
crime. The CSO's crime statistics for 2006, published today, report
that 66 people were murdered in the State last year – four more
homicides than in the previous year. The statistics also show that
drug possession and gun crime surged towards the end of 2006, with
rates up by 13 and 24 per cent respectively in the final quarter.
The figures, which make for grim reading, show the urgent need for a
new agency to tackle organised crime, according to Green Party
Justice spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD.
Deputy Cuffe said: "The
statistics released today are extremely worrying and indicate the
continued growth of organised criminal activity in this country. The
rate of murder continues to increase steadily, while detection rates
for these crimes continue to fall.
"We are sorely in need of a well coordinated, multi-agency approach
to tackling organised crime in this country. Minister McDowell has
previously said that the Garda Commissioner has a 'blank cheque' in
relation to funding special initiatives such as Operation Anvil and
Operation Oak. However, throwing money at a problem is not the
answer. These gangs are operating at a very sophisticated level, and
the response should be equally sophisticated.
"The Green Party recently proposed
the establishment of an Organised Crime Agency, similar to one
currently operating in the UK. Such an agency should have strong
connections to all units within An Garda Síochána with relevance to
fighting organised crime, and work in co-operation with Europol
where necessary. Intelligence gathering and information sharing at
international, national and local levels are key to successfully
fighting this insidious form of criminal activity." |
CiaranCuffe.com,
or Text Ciaran on 087 265 2075.