IN 1993, THE first community court was set up in midtown Manhattan to deal with some of the crimes on the lower end of the spectrum like vandalism, drug taking and theft.
More than ten years on, this has been hailed as a success in helping to make the streets of New York safe to walk down again and business groups here are now calling for the government to set up a similar system in Dublin.
This week the Dublin City Business Association (DCBA) is hosing a seminar to discuss how these courts could work in Dublin and why they are so desperately needed here. Along with experts on the topic, they will also appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, having pushed for this initiative for the last ten years.
CEO of the association, David Brennan, told TheJournal.ie that the aim is to develop something “that deals with the individual and not the system”. The court would have a fully qualified judge who would be able to hear a case and sentence a person, but with a focus on doing what is best for the community and addressing the issues around the crime committed.
It would be a one-stop shop. Just suppose you’re mad and you have a couple of jars and rip the windscreen wipers off nine cars on Dawson Street and kick a couple of bins. If you admitted it straight away and you were saying “that was a silly thing to do and I don’t know what I was thinking”, you could be in court the next morning and it would be dealt with. The court would have a range of sanctions and provide community service which would could start that day if you wanted, on Dawson Street where the crime was.
In New York, where the system has been operating successfully now for over a decade, there are services in place to offer help to those dealing with depression and drug addiction or those who are unemployed and need training, which Brennan said gets right to the root of the problem.
He claimed these community courts could reduce crime and the numbers in prison and therefore save the government money, though the courts themselves would have to be funded by the government.
“It’s good for citizens, its good or the streets and it’s obviously good for businesses as well,” Brennan said.
The DCBA has been in discussions with the Department of Justice for ten years on this issues and Brennan said it is now being looked at “very seriously” by Minister Shatter’s officials. A report from the Justice Committee in 2007 recommended a pilot programme in Dublin and it is hoped that this will finally be implemented after TDs hear from experts tomorrow.
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