Trevor Laffan: Crime and litter are rampant, and politicians just give soundbites

When I was a serving member of An Garda Síochána back in the ’80s and ’90s, there were a number of familiar names appearing regularly in the custody records at garda stations across the city.

They were the habitual offenders who caused mayhem on the streets, week in and week out.

They had a predictable routine. They got drunk or took drugs, fought with people, stole from shops, and abused people they came in contact with.

Then they got arrested and were brought before the courts, received short prison sentences, and emerged from incarceration to repeat the process all over again. It was never- ending.

They were a complete nuisance to everyone, including those in social services trying to help them.

It seems not a lot has changed since I retired more than ten years ago. The revolving wheel of misery where people habitually commit various crimes is continuing, often with the same old faces. Here are two short examples:

The Echo reported on how an intruder entered the English language school as a trespasser, went behind the counter, and took €200 in cash. He was identified on CCTV and had 187 previous convictions, including 24 for burglary and 40 counts of theft.

Remember that number, 187 previous convictions.

For the burglary, the judge sentenced him to four months with the last two months suspended on condition that he would attend residential treatment within four weeks of his release from prison.

The two months imposed will not increase the overall time to be served by the accused in custody as he was already serving a longer sentence.

The Irish Examiner reported on a case in Cork District Court recently involving a 53-year-old drunken man who was abusing and threatening gardaí at lunchtime on Oliver Plunkett Street in front of adults and children.

A resident of Cork Simon Community, he pleaded guilty to engaging in threatening behaviour and being drunk and a danger during the lunchtime incident.

Five days earlier, at exactly the same time of the day, he was drunk and threatening again and had to be tasered and taken to the ground so that he could be arrested.

And in the period between December, 2025, and last month, he was involved in several shoplifting incidents in Cork city, stealing quantities of alcohol for the most part. The judge in that case imposed consecutive sentences totalling five months.

Regular offenders are making life difficult for businesspeople in the city, tying up scarce garda resources, and annoying the general public.

For the vast majority of them, their long list of previous convictions would indicate there is little chance of redemption. There will be few road to Damascus stories here.

So, if prison isn’t sorting them out, what can be done to break the cycle?

Well, I don’t know and it seems the people we elect to run the country don’t know either. As far as I can see, their policy is to continue on as before.

Candidates in the run up to the recent by-election in Dublin were asked about this and their views were expressed in response to a survey by The Sunday Times of candidates on issues raised by voters across the constituency before polling day.

While I appreciate this was a Dublin based survey, the issues apply to every city and town in Ireland, to a greater or lesser degree, and so too will decisions made by our political masters, so it is relevant to us here in the real capital too.

Candidates were asked whether they supported stronger laws on aggressive begging, increased fines for littering and fly-tipping, the full decriminalisation of drugs, and a tourist tax in Dublin.

Six candidates said higher fines were needed to combat littering and fly-tipping, while five were opposed. Five candidates supported the full decriminalisation of drugs, while six were against.

Two candidates supported stricter laws on aggressive begging and other candidates said the existing laws should be enforced more effectively.

Another said a more hands-on approach from gardaí was needed. “Aggressive begging is illegal. I do think more needs to be done to address it, because we see it increasing in the city,” said one candidate. “Aggressive begging needs to be stamped out completely.”

I think the current members of An Garda Síochána might have an issue with using discretion these days. That particular word has a way of getting them into trouble. Discretion was used widely in my day, but now I think sticking rigidly to the rules is the safer option.

Anyway, back to the survey. The Fine Gael candidate said: “What Dublin Central needs is stronger enforcement and a more visible garda presence. People should never feel intimidated walking through their own streets, whether that’s around shops, bus stops, or ATMs.”

That last comment was made by a man whose party is currently in power, by the way.

The candidates’ collective solution is to increase the number of gardaí, introduce more legislation, and have stricter enforcement with increased fines.

Popular soundbites for the electorate, but what would those measures really achieve?

Nothing new, that’s for sure.

They would definitely add to the already overcrowded prison population which would in turn lead to the early release of many hopeless cases to make room for more hopeless cases who would soon join them on the streets again.

Interestingly, six of the candidates called for increased fines for littering and dog fouling, which is always a popular bandwagon for politicians to jump on. The reality of course, is that there is no point in increasing the fines if the current ones are not being imposed.

So, really, these people are just saying what the public want to hear, but they don’t offer anything new.

No wonder people are disillusioned with politics.