Public order offences fuelled by drink
Public order offences fuelled by drink
Public order incidents have shot up by almost 60% in the past five years, fuelled by an explosion in alcohol abuse, which experts say the Government has failed to tackle.
Figures supplied to the Irish Examiner by the Central Statistics Office also show the total number of assaults jumped by nearly 20% between 2003 and 2007.
The figures follow several drink-fuelled public order incidents on St Patrick’s Day, including mass disorder by up to 100 drunken youths in Finglas, north Dublin.
Highlighting the scale of the alcohol problem, a separate report by the Health Research Board (HRB) yesterday showed there was a 21% rise in the number of new alcohol treatment cases between 2004 and 2006.
Statistics from the CSO, covering the period 2003 to 2007, reveal:
* 57% rise in public order offences, from 25,669 to 40,380.
* 13% fall in drunkenness offences, from 11,922 to 10,359.
* 26% rise in minor assaults, from 8,248 to 10,423.
* 3% fall in assaults causing harm, from 3,942 to 3,832.
* 31% overall rise in all four categories, from 49,781 to 64,994.
“The figures from the CSO and the HRB all point to problems caused by alcohol,” said public health expert Dr Joe Barry of Trinity College Dublin. “Literally every month there is a report on the different harms from alcohol, whether public order or health-related. Still there is very little government action. The Government needs to tackle alcohol in the same way as they tackled tobacco.”
He said he would wait and see what the Government Alcohol Advisory Group would recommend, but he said most of the recommendations of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol in 2004, of which he was a member, had not been implemented.
“This called for restrictions on the sale of alcohol — the opposite has happened — and it called for raises in taxes on alcohol, which has not happened.”
He said the greater the availability of alcohol, the more likely that incidents like the one in Finglas would happen.
A total of 17 people were arrested following almost a day of disturbances in the area. Seven cars were burnt, a van was petrol-bombed and a car was hijacked and its driver pulled out of the vehicle and assaulted.
Another car was almost hijacked and people were threatened in their homes as the day descended into chaos, with gardaí in riot gear eventually restoring order late on Monday night.
Speaking at the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors annual conference last night, Minister of State at the Department of Justice Sean Power said: “We have a problem with binge drinking in this country. This is leading to public disorder and antisocial behaviour.”
He said drink had played a “considerable role” in the Finglas violence. “I’d be very concerned about what happened in Finglas. Very young kids, 11- and 10-year-olds seemed to have indulged in alcohol.”
Ms Power said the Government and the gardaí placed a large emphasis on tackling public disorder and alcohol crime.
Irish Examiner
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