City Councillors demand action on knife crime as Task Force and legislation back unanimously

At last nights Dublin City Council monthly meeting an emergency motion calling on the Minister for Justice to set up a task force to tackle the knife crime situation and to get Jim O’Callaghan’s private member’s bill on double the sentence for possession of a knife was passed unanimously.

The Emergency Motion was put forward by four Inner City Councillors, Nial Ring, Cieran Perry, Christy Burke and Anthony Flynn.

Cllr Nial Ring said: “I am delighted at the level of support for the motion as it showed the councillors in all areas of the city were very aware of the increase in knife crime and the need to tackle it before it gets out of control.

“I recently described an atmosphere of fear among inner-city communities arising from the recent violence and councillor after councillor I spoke with before the meeting agreed that people are literally living in fear and looking to the authorities for action.

“This motion clearly outlines the action City Councillors are demanding of the Minister for Justice.

“Apart from the task force being set up Jim O’Callaghan’s proposed legislation, if enacted, will send out a powerful signal that knife crime will not be tolerated.” he concluded.

Cllr Cieran Perry said that more than just legislation was needed to combat the problem, citing the need for better engagement with younger people.

“Legislation is one part of the jigsaw in tackling this scourge but ultimately we need buy-in from the affected communities and in particular, the young people in the areas.

“That is why the immediate setting up of the task force is vital” he added.

Cllr. Christy Burke has requested an immediate meeting with senior Gardaí as well as senior officials from the Department of Justice to discuss the issue and this must take place as soon as possible.

“A meeting with Senior Gardaí is essential as we need to know what policing response is in place and what additional resources are needed to equip the Gardaí to effectively deal with this problem.

“If there are any barriers to tackling this problem we need to know what they are and what is needed to remove them”

Cllr. Anthony Flynn added that an increased Garda presence in certain areas of the city could prevent such instances from occurring so frequently.

“We have had an alarming increase in knife crime within the North Inner City over the last number of months.

“What is required is an increase in visual police presence, active community policing and engagement with young people.

“A young man has lost his life and this must be taken seriously. The reintroduction of Jim O’Callaghan’s private member’s bill will be the first step in reassuring the city that knife crime will be taken seriously”.

WORDING OF MOTION IS BELOW:

EMERGENCY MOTION IN THE NAMES OF CLLRS. NIAL RING, CIERAN PERRY, CHRISTY BURKE AND ANTHONY FLYNN

That members of Dublin City Council call on the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, to immediately facilitate the reintroduction of Deputy Jim O’Callaghan’s private members bill, namely the Firearms and Offensive Weapons (Amendment) Bill 2019, the purpose of which is to amend Section 9 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990, which would increase the maximum sentence that can be imposed for the possession of a knife to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate any person from five to ten years. 

Furthermore, in light of recent knife related incidents on the streets of Dublin, the members, in acknowledging  that the foregoing legislative change can only be a part of the solution to knife carrying and knife crime, also call on the Minister to immediately set up a task force to address, research and analyse the causes of the increase in knife crime, examine its impact and, most importantly, make recommendations as to how it can be eliminated from our society as far as possible.

The members request that the task force should comprise all stakeholder including, but not restricted to, An Garda Síochána, political, community, drug agencies, victim support groups, legal advisors and education representatives.

Possible solutions/recommendations/proposals to be should include, but not be confined to, increasing Garda resources needed to tackle this specific issue, funding knife awareness through education programmes, acknowledging and addressing the link between knife carrying/use and drug use/intimidation as well as addressing victim impact.

The task force should, on setup, detail the timescale and way in which any and all its solutions/recommendations/proposals can be speedily implemented.