'Nip it in the bud': Unruly behaviour on Cork streets being addressed

GARDAÍ have said they are “dedicated to ensuring the safety of all communities in the Douglas area” after multiple reports of youths engaging in anti-social behaviour there in recent weeks.

Fine Gael councillor Deirdre Forde told The Echo that concerned parents locally contacted her about incidents they had observed in Douglas, and the child of one had been targeted.

Separately, someone from Carrigaline subsequently sent Ms Forde a video of a group of young people there engaging in “some rough anti-social horseplay” with people who were waiting at a bus stop. “I was appalled that this was happening on a normal day, when people are just trying to get the bus to school or work,” Ms Forde said.

Regarding the issues in Douglas, Ms Forde said: “People don’t want this to gain a hold in the community, so we need to check it early on.

“For this reason, I think that we needed to publicise it, to nip it in the bud, and to warn these young people — or whoever indulges in this kind of behaviour — not to risk your future for 10 seconds of madness.

“You risk upsetting the community or even injuring somebody totally innocent,” she added.

“If there’s a gang of them and just one or two of you, it can be very intimidating and then we risk the older people becoming afraid to come out at night — we’re not going to tolerate that.”

Antisocial behaviour cannot and should not be tolerated pic.twitter.com/1bgYcLe4wB

— Deirdre FORDE (@deirdreforde) February 14, 2024

She added that parents were “concerned in relation to gardaí being available”.

Ms Forde contacted the community garda and the sergeant in Togher and they assured her that they “had already been involved, had identified people, and were going to go to prosecutions”.

Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Rose Desmond, chairperson of the Douglas policing forum, said a number of people had also contacted her about these incidents, confirming gardaí were aware and had been pursuing it.

“Having liaised regularly with community gardaí, they were aware of increased activity and have acted very swiftly, managing to identify a large number of youths involved both from the area and from outside.

“They are following the junior liaison process in relation to clamping down on it,” she said, adding the next meeting of the community policing forum will be held on March 7.

Gardaí have said they are taking reports of anti-social behaviour seriously and are addressing the issues.

“We are aware of recent incidents and are diligently working to identify those involved, utilising the Juvenile Diversion Programme process to effectively address anti-social behaviour involving young persons,” a spokesperson told The Echo.

“Collaboration with community leaders, stakeholders, and the Douglas policing forum is crucial in addressing these local challenges.

“We encourage members of the public to report all incidents of concern to An Garda Síochána in Douglas.”

Ms Forde appealed to young people, imploring them to think of the effect that a court appearance or criminal record could have on their future job searches. She also appealed to parents.

“Parents don’t want them [their children] getting into trouble, so I’d ask them to ask their children where they’re going and what they’re doing.”