A multi-layered response is required to tackle knife crime across the country, according to Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy.<\/p>\n
Deputy Murphy, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on justice, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cFigures supplied to me through a parliamentary question give rise to serious concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to the Department of Justice, more than 18,000 knives have been seized nationally over the past decade. The annual figures show a strong upward trend, increasing from 1,344 in 2014 to 2,260 in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year\u2019s total number of seizures was 2,186 \u2013 the second-highest annual total in the past decade. When you look at the numbers over a 10-year period, they really jump off the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to remember that the number of knives seized are just a fraction of what are being carried.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been renewed Government interest in law and order since Simon Harris was elected Taoiseach last week, with the Minister for Justice bringing a memo to Cabinet today in relation to tougher sentences for knife crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, while it is important that people feel safe, a multi-layered response is needed to deal with knife crime, including significant investment in youth work and early intervention measures.<\/p>\n
\u201cA knife amnesty, which was very successful in Scotland, could also be considered here. Using this model to remove knives from circulation is a good starting point for de-escalation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere should also be engagement by youth workers with young people who present at hospitals with stab injuries to address this problem in the longer-term.<\/p>\n
\u201cSanctions on their own won\u2019t work. There are already significant deterrents in place for knife crime, including the threat of imprisonment, but these do not seem to have addressed the worrying trend we have seen over the past decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 16, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A multi-layered response is required to tackle knife crime across the country, according to Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy. Deputy Murphy, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on justice, said: \u201cFigures supplied to me through a parliamentary question give rise to serious concerns. \u201cAccording to the Department of Justice, more than 18,000 knives have been seized […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[182,502,411,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catherine-murphy","category-crime","category-justice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n