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Open comments on apparent crime wave
Read more about: Crime
We’ve no particular insights to offer on the murders of the last couple of days, to which is now added this evening’s shooting near the IFSC. News accounts are still unclear as to how or why one of the victims of the Louth carjacking spree ended up dead. It is a time when the political system, and even the Gardaí, can seem impotent in the face of events. All up for discussion in comments. One issue: the gulf between what the media are able to say about alleged gangland figures once they are dead, versus the difficulties of mounting a prosecution while they are still alive.
Good point, i heard paul williams on today fm this morning and the amount of detail into which he could go re Hyland was astonishing.
I was astonished at one of the opening details in the story in Wednesday’s Irish Times about Hyland - that his 1st killing is believed to be that of his brother-in-law, who had murdered his sister. That’s a very Martin Scorsese touch.
there is an almost tangible relish in these reports where they can finally write what they have been dying to publish for ages.
And Thursday’s IT put this story on the IFSC victim together so quickly, it’s as if they had a filed story ready to go.
I have a question. Where is “Gangland” exactly? This stupid term has allowed the kind of blind-eye complacency towards murders of a certain character to turn into an outright externalisation: a kind of let them have at it and it’ll sort itself out. There is no such place, Ireland is punctuated with criminals, they don’t have their own country, they live in this one. We need to abandon the moral relativism in treating of these murders: society needs to be equally abhorrent of all violent deaths because of their wider implications. To quote the Manics: “if you tolerate this, then your children will be next”.
The externalisation of the victims of “gangland” crime, and an implicit toleration of murder of a certain type of person, has allowed the consolidation of the attitude that criminals of a certain ruthlessness can act with impunity. How much difference can there be between killing a drugs rival and killing a kid doing a day’s work when you have a gun in your hand and a narcotically inflated sense of invunerability?
The media and political class need to spit the word “gangland” out of their mouths and never use it again, and reabsorb the immediate relevance of all violent crime to society, regardless of a victim’s own criminality.
Regarding how to deal with it:
CLEAR THE SYSTEM OF PETTY CRIME: TV licence fines, minor drug offences, pissing down an alley are eating up manpower, court hours and prison space. Leave off and concentrate elsewhere.
INCREASED SURVEILLANCE.
EMERGENCY SEARCH POWERS: Temporarily empower the Guards to carry out sweeps of suspects’ houses.
MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCES FOR POSSESSION OF ILLEGAL FIREARMS AND DRUG DEALING.
TAX AUDITS. Can’t explain your income? Prison.
SOCIAL WELFARE REVIEWS. Fine tooth comb, anything out of place cut them off.
AUTOMATIC DEPORTATION FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS ENGAGED IN VIOLENT CRIME FOLLOWING PRISON.
HIT THEM FOR EVERY PETTY OFFENCE: Spitting chewing gum on the street? Fine them. Enforce punishment for every petty offence.
INCREASE GARDA VISIBILITY.
EVICTION FROM LOCAL AUTHORITY HOUSING.
CUT OFF SERVICES. Water, electricity, gas, telephone…
Yes there are problems of civil liberties and the abuse of powers, but these are short term applications to a problem that has been allowed to develop. These are short-term applications . In the long term:
STOP BUILDING SINK ESTATES.