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For Oral Answer on : 20/06/2024
Question Number(s): 24 Question Reference(s): 26442/24
Department: Justice
Asked by: David Stanton T.D.
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QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Justice if her Department has examined the community court approach operating in parts of the UK and US, with a view to possibly establishing a similar model in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY
The US model of community courts received consideration within my Department some years ago and the concept has some similarities with the drug court which has operated in the Dublin District Court since 2001.
A number of jurisdictions have developed what are sometimes referred to as ‘problem solving’ courts. Models include ‘community courts’, drug courts and restorative programmes.
These courts can vary in character, but they generally incorporate a combination of sanction for the crime, assistance in rehabilitation and reparation to either the victim or the community in which the offence took place. They combine punishment with help, such as drug treatment or mental health counselling.
To address the issue of reoffending, the Irish Prison Service, The Probation Service and my Department are focused on maximising opportunities for diversion and rehabilitation in order to reduce reoffending and help people to reintegrate on release from custody supervised.
In 2022, I published a Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform, which is being implemented and includes increasing the use of alternatives to custodial sanctions where appropriate.
The Deputy will also be aware of the important work of the Probation Service, both in supervising people referred directly to them by the Courts and in supervising those participating in an incentivized early release scheme. The Probation Service dealt with 16,989 offenders in the community, in 2023.
Additional funding has also been allocated to the Probation Service to expand the Joint Agency Response to Crime (JARC) programme, which as the Deputy will be aware has been found to be highly effective in steering people away from criminality and reducing re-offending. The intention is to embed the JARC approach as ‘business as usual’ standard practice between the Probation Service and An Garda Síochána by the end of this year.
Additionally, the recommendations of the High Level Taskforce on Mental Health are also being progressed in conjunction with the Department of Health with a view to better supporting people to address the underlying causes of their offending behaviour, including through diversion and appropriate community supports post-release.
The Report of the Judicial Planning Working Group recommended a range of measures to ensure the more efficient use of judicial resources in place, as well as the appointment of 44 additional judges to address backlogs and reduce waiting times with the first tranche of 24 judges now in place.
The Judicial Studies Committee, established by the Judicial Council, has devised and delivered training to avoid re-traumatisation. The focus of this training is to give judges a deeper understanding of people’s experiences and to explore ways in which this can be addressed.
I’m sure the Deputy will appreciate that judges are independent in the matter of sentencing, as in other matters concerning the exercise of judicial functions, subject only to the constitution and the law. The court is required to impose a sentence which is proportionate not only to the crime, but to the individual offender. The Judicial Council has established a Sentencing Guidelines Committee which is responsible for compiling guidelines to increase consistency in criminal sentences.
Finally, the Deputy will appreciate that the Irish justice system is not necessarily comparable with many other jurisdictions, both Constitutionally and in scale and there are no plans at present to establish a community court separate from the existing District Court at present.
