IRELAND — Youth crime is one of the issues of greatest social concern. National Irish data confirm that the situation is dangerously close to a real emergency and the escalation is more serious than in others.
The number of juvenile offenders is increasing enormously; this is confirmed by the social services and Garda that see the number of children in charge growing day by day.
Irish government released a plan, Tackling Youth Crime – Youth Justice Action Plan, 2014-2018, to create a safer society reducing youth offending through appropriate interventions and linkages to services. The plan, made to understand the main causes and reduce the numbers as soon as possible, highlights that “Since the first National Youth Justice Strategy commenced in 2008, the number of children detained by the Courts annually on criminal conviction has consistently dropped; the operational costs of detention have reduced by over 30%; the capital costs and space required in the new national detention facilities being built at Oberstown are approximately 50% of what was estimated in 2008; and youth crime has decreased”
“A small, but significant number of young people in Ireland every year require targeted, strategic attention because their behaviour has led to their involvement in the youth justice system. These young people have been given specific attention through the implementation of the National Youth Justice Strategy, 2008-2010 and are the focus of this Action Plan”.
