The diplomat, a stolen mobile, the girl thief and her Fagin mother
THE Chinese Ambassador’s official mobile phone was stolen by a child as he tried on a jacket at Kildare Village last Saturday, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong had been invited as an official guest to the VIP section of the shopping outlet when it happened.
Gardaí believe a young girl – who was being schooled by her watching mother during the Oliver Twist, Fagin-style theft – was responsible for swiping Dr Xiaoyong’s phone.
A source told the MoS: ‘The Chinese Ambassador was shopping in Kildare Village last Saturday. As he tried on a jacket, he put his phone down briefly and it was then taken.
‘It was a woman with her kids. She got a daughter to take it and left,’ said the source.
Gardaí managed to get the number of an English registration silver Audi as it was driven away, but no arrests have yet been made.
A number of searches have been carried out to locate the phone, but so far these have been fruitless.
It is believed the family responsible are from the Portlaoise area and are well-known to gardaí.
Teaching children to steal is part of a growing and worrying trend where both parent and child can avoid a prosecution.
Gardaí are aware of cases where children under the age of ten are used by their parents to commit such crimes.
Children under 12 years old cannot be prosecuted as they have not reached the age of criminal responsibility. And those who are over 12 are either cautioned or can be charged but only following a direction from the superintendent in charge of the Garda Youth Diversion Office based in Dublin’s Harcourt Square.
In the past year alone, there were in excess of 20,000 referrals to the Diversion Programme, up from over 17,000 referrals in 2016.
A source told the MoS: ‘It’s a very slow system. There is only one head of the diversion programme and all superintendents have to defer to their view. All cases in the country have to go to the head and they rule on whether the child should be cautioned or charged. Each case is treated individually.
‘There previously was a red flag list for repeat offenders who were charged straight away, but that was stopped in recent years.
‘The system was quicker because the local Juvenile Liaison Officer dealt with it and then informed main office in Dublin.
‘But now each case goes to the Dublin office first, then back to the local, then back to main office who gives a decision. Often the case can be statute barred by then.
‘The system is made worse by recidivist children. There are lots of cases of young adults up in court on charges they committed as teens,’ said the source.
A Garda spokesperson said they are ‘unaware of any backlog of referral’. They said that ‘referrals are not being delayed. Some criminal investigations are more complicated and take a longer timeframe to complete’. The Diversion Programme is headed by Superintendent Noreen McBrien, who took over from now Chief Superintendent Yvonne Murphy in 2017.
When a person under 18 years of age has committed a crime the matter can be dealt with in two ways: the young person can be cautioned or brought before the courts. The decision to caution or prosecute is made by a Garda Superintendent at the Garda Youth Diversion Office.
In 2016, there were 17,615 referrals to the Diversion Programme, which is 9.7% lower than the 19,513 referrals in 2015.
There were 9,451 children referred in 2016, 4% lower than the 9,807 in 2015.
Some 27% of children referred were under 15 years of age in 2016, with 30% being 17 years old.
Theft and related offences accounted for 30.7% of crime committed by children.
Parent and child can both avoid prosecution
‘Gardaí are unaware of any backlog’