The Gazette 1984

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND GAZETTE

Vol. 78 No. 3

April 1984

Comment . . .

In this issue

. . . My Neighbour's Keepers T HE first report of the Dáil Select Committee on Crime, Lawlessness and Vandalism is welcome, not only as an indication that the new Commi t t ee system is seen to be productive but also because the report has focussed on a topic of immediate public concern — the prevention of crime. The Ne i g h b o u r h o od Watch system, the introduction of which the Commi t t ee recommends, has its recent origins in the United States where since its introduction in the late 1970s it has already met with remarkable success. There a r e r e p o r t e d ly 8 0 , 0 00 N e i g h b o u r h o od Wa t c h p r og r ammes in operation in the United States and there is clear evidence that the crime rate in various communities operating the system has d r opp ed significantly. The introduction of the system came as a result of the recogni- tion that the ordinary citizen could not lock himself away in his fortress-home and require the State, through its police force, to provide him with protection without some participation by him in the preventive process. The introduction of a Ne i ghbou r hood Watch System must not be seen as an endorsement of vigilante groups. While it is appreciated that in some cases frustration with the apparent inability of the Ga r d ai to cope with the problem of drug-pushing has led law-abiding citizens to form such groups — and apparently rid their communities of these merchants of death — the dangers inherent in such unofficial groups have already manifested themselves. Such systems will not, by themselves, eliminate crime and would in no sense be a substitute for adequate policing. Hopefully, however, they will reduce the a mo u n t of s p o n t a n e o us o p p o r t u n i st crime a nd vandalism. Once the need for the citizen to involve himself in this area of crime prevention is seen, and seen to be beneficial, it may encourage greater participation by the citizen in other activities devoted to the reduction and elimination of the causes of crime. Some might question the choice of the Finglas area of Dublin for the introduction of the first pilot scheme in Ireland. Perhaps the choice of other longer-established communities in the City such as Dr imn a gh or Bally- fermot, where there is already substantial evidence of c ommun i ty spirit, might have been more appropriate. It would be a pity if the scheme were not to be seen as successful in its first test merely because an area admitted to have its own special difficulties had been chosen as the locus for the test. A minor caveat: it must be questioned whether, in these days of acronyms, the name Civilian Observation Patrol is the best that could be chosen for the Irish version of the Ne i ghbou r hood Watch. • 67

Comme nt

67

Office Au t oma t i on — The Society's Comp u t er

Wo r k i ng Party

69

Practice Notes

73

Book Review

77

A Profile of Lawyer Lifestyles

81

For Your Diary

87

Correspondence

89

Professional I n f o rma t i on

90

Executive Editor: Editorial Board:

Mary Buckley

Charles R. M. Meredith, Ch a i rman J o hn F. Buckley Ga ry Byrne William Earley Michael V. O ' Ma h o ny Maxwell Sweeney Liam O hOisin, Telephone 305236

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