Trevor Laffan: In the world of crime, young offenders keep on offending

Most of us are law-abiding citizens, but there are many who spend their lives railing against authority.

They engage in anti-social behaviour, criminal activity, and basically do what they like, regardless of how their actions might affect anyone else. They rarely, if ever, think about consequences.

These people regularly find themselves at loggerheads with the gardaí and the courts. Despite the many chances they get to mend their ways, and they do get plenty, they still refuse to play by the rules.

They seldom change and, in fact, many of them get worse as they get older, emboldened by years of disrespecting everyone around them and getting away with it.

To make matters worse, they often go on to have children who, in many cases, turn out the same way, perpetuating the cycle of mayhem.

The Echo regularly carries reports from the courts on people who commit crimes despite having dozens or even hundreds of previous convictions.

There was one such case recently involving a middle-aged man who I knew when he was a young offender. He’s grown up but hasn’t changed by the sound of it.

It isn’t for the want of getting breaks either.

Our judicial system is designed in such a way that custodial sentences are mostly imposed as a last resort. Most of these repeat offenders have lengthy lists of convictions. They’re habitual criminals and many of them started out on that path when they were just children.

I remember years ago coming across a young lad about 12 years of age who was drinking with others in a laneway late one night. He was tipsy and giving me a lot of lip.

I brought him home to his parents, but he wasn’t bothered about what lay ahead of him. In my innocence, I had thought he would be in dread of facing his father in that condition.

His father answered the door, and the young lad pushed him out of the way, ran down the hallway, shouted some expletives, and slammed the back door as he went out to rejoin his buddies. His father just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. “What can I do?” he asked.

What can you do, indeed?

From reading the court reports in the newspapers, I have seen many teenagers who were running wild in my policing days are still appearing in court on criminal charges even though they are now in their forties and fifties.

Most responsible parents teach their kids about boundaries and accountability from an early age, so they learn there are consequences for actions and repercussions for bad behaviour.

The experts tell us that when discipline is absent or inconsistent, children will struggle to differentiate right from wrong. That then becomes an excuse when they get older.

When seeking mercy from the judge, some defendants blame everyone except themselves. They were raised in poor family circumstances, lack of parenting, neglect, and no support while growing up.

Later in life, the bad behaviour remains and only the excuses change. Addiction to drugs and alcohol is often responsible for their wayward antics, we are told.

Another excuse often used to explain their bad behaviour is an admission that they didn’t think. They didn’t think a bang on the head could be fatal, or they didn’t think they hit him that hard, or they didn’t think the knife went in that far.

Three words that explain so much… I didn’t think. That doesn’t excuse anything though.

I suspect Christopher O’Neill didn’t expect to kill Martin Lynn in Dublin with a single punch either, but if he had thought before he acted, he may have figured out it was always a possibility.

Mr Lynn had been out socialising with his partner and friends one day in 2023 and had just got out of a taxi near his home when O’Neill, who was a neighbour of his, drove past the taxi on his motorbike.

O’Neill stopped his bike, walked back to Mr Lynn, and punched him with force to the head.

Mr Lynn, who had his hands in his pockets at the time, fell to the ground and was taken to hospital, where he died two days later.

O’Neill was sentenced to six years’ prison for manslaughter in January.

The Echo reported on the case of Cobh man Dylan Scannell, who received a life sentence for murder last year.

Scannell apologised for his actions, but he also said he didn’t think he could hurt anyone by hitting him in the leg with a machete. He didn’t think it could result in death. But sadly, it did.

There was another incident reported in the media involving a young man who punched another man to the ground and then kicked him several times in the head.

The accused later pleaded guilty in court to a charge of assault causing harm, and he received a suspended sentence.

The offender in this case also expressed remorse for his actions and I imagine he was relieved too. We have seen cases where a single punch was enough to cause death.

Kicking someone in the head can result in a similar outcome, but he apparently didn’t think about that.

Remorse is of little use to any victim or to their family, especially in the case of death or serious injury. It doesn’t do the culprit much good either.

The consequences of assault are far-reaching for victims and their families.

Like dropping pebbles in a pond, the ripples go on forever, and many are affected.

Thinking about possible consequences could prevent a lot of misery, but it’s a step too far for many.