Request for sexual assault figures at JPC

A REQUEST was made to Garda Chief Superintendent Patrick McMenamin for the inclusion of sexual assault figures in his statistic reports in the future, at the recent Joint Policing Committee meeting.

Cllr George Lawlor made the request, saying it was one who had looked for before and that it was an issue he felt the committee needed to shine a light on. He explained that the Rape Crisis Centre in Wexford had a waiting list and he felt the issue needed to be highlighted.

‘Can I ask that these figures be included? At the moment, it’s almost as if it’s a hidden crime. Victims need support to come forward so if they see the number of reports being made it might act as encouragement.’

Chief Supt McMenamin said he couldn’t see any difficulty in providing the statistics adding that the number of reports had risen considerably.

Earlier in the discussion, he had explained how assault cases had increased across the board, something he attributed to more people being out at night, substance abuse and, in some cases, domestic incidents.

Cllr Robbie Ireton referred back to his party colleague’s point but took umbrage with what he called the ‘false allegations’ that tainted a person.

‘You have people who are exonerated in courts but nothing happens to the person who made the allegation,’ he remarked.

Chief Supt McMenamin said that in such cases, gardai investigated the complaint, provided the evidence they gathered to the Director of Public Prosecutions, and they then decided whether it should go before the court where the person would either be convicted or not.

He said that the victims were often very vulnerable people and they were at the centre of any such investigation.

A lot of care was taken, he said, to ensure that cases were dealt with, with sensitivity.