‘GIVE US POWER TO ARREST BAIL THUGS’
In the wake of disturbing rape case in which predator broke court conditions, gardaí want law reformed
GARDAÍ are pushing for tough new powers to arrest offenders who breach their bail conditions without having to first go to court. The plea for reform comes in the wake of the Eoin Berkeley case.
It emerged last week that the vicious rapist had been spotted by gardaí breaching his bail conditions on a number of occasions before he
abducted and viciously attacked a Spanish student.
Garda management are to ask the Department of Justice to change our bail laws, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.
They want to remove the current bureaucracy of having to go to court to seek a bench warrant to arrest someone they see flouting their bail conditions.
The only exceptions to arresting a person witnessed breaking bail are where gardaí believe the accused could harm, interfere or intimidate their alleged victim or a witness to the offence they are alleged to have committed.
But senior gardaí believe this is too restrictive and will seek ‘the power to arrest’ offenders who they believe are in breach of repeat of what happened.
‘Applications to obtain a bench warrant to arrest via the District Court often time sees gardaí waiting to get in front of a judge for a number of weeks,’ said a senior source adding that as part of Mr Leahy’s review, ‘gardaí are going to call on Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan to give them the power to arrest and change current legislation where they deal with incidents where there are alleged breaches of bail conditions’.
‘What this report is seeking is that in incidents where gardaí observe a blatant breach of bail, they have the power to arrest.’
The solicitor who represented the Corcoran family, who were the victims of a terrifying raid on their Tipperary home in 2013, has backed the proposal to make our bail laws tougher.
Victims of Crime Association president Kieran Cleary told the Mail: ‘Gardaí must be allowed to immediately pick an offender up off the street and put them back into prison immediately because they are suspected to be in breach of the bail laws.
‘We need to change the bail laws in Ireland. If gardaí have the power to arrest someone in breach of bail without having to go before a judge, then it will certainly help the process.
‘There’s too much red tape as the current bail system stands... if gardaí had more power then this dreadful Eoin Berkeley case may never have happened.’
A senior source said: ‘Currently, for the breach of bail, a garda must do a full report on the suspected breach of bail which is then sent to a superintendent. He or she will then give direction whether or not to take a case before the courts.
‘Gardaí then have to seek a court application and get a judge and members of gardaí then have to make a case to the judge that a person is in breach of their bail to get them brought before court. Based on the discretionary evidence, a judge then decides whether or not to issue a warrant for the person’s arrest for breach of bail.
‘It’s a terrible process. It’s not a user- or garda-friendly system, the current bail system.’
A Department of Justice spokesman said the country’s bail laws are continually reviewed to ensure ‘all possible avenues are taken to protect the public against the commission of crime, particularly serious crime, by persons on bail.’
For years, under the ‘Call This Justice?’ campaign, the Mail has been pushing for legal reform that will help protect victims and put serious criminals behind bars for longer.
Soft sentencing and the problem of bail being granted and resulting in further crimes such as burglary being committed are central to the campaign.
Earlier this year the Director of Public Prosecutions publicly asked judges to start getting tough on serial burglars, pointing out their crimes destroy communities, ruin lives and leave people living in fear. Comment – Page 12 sean.dunne@dailymail.ie