Ciara keeps teenagers on straight and narrow

City Lives – Garda Juvenile Liaison Officer Ciara  Moran talks to Denise McNamara

At certain times of the year there is a spike in petty crime, road traffic and public order offences. These can happen when the weather is good, when schools are out or when exams are over.

Unfortunately, the incidents involve young people as young as 12, bored or affected by drugs and alcohol who may have slipped beyond the reach of a parent.

This is where the Garda Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO) comes in, whose role it is to deter that teenager away from a life of crime and back onto straight and narrow. There are four JLOs in the Galway Division, one concentrates on Tuam, another in the Gort and Loughrea area, another in Salthill and Connemara region.

“There was a spike last summer of thefts from people in the city centre, people being robbed of their phones or wallets or cigarettes. It emerged that a small group of two or three were responsible and it was all alcohol fuelled. They threatened people, in some cases it was tourists and foreign students,” explained the JLO for the East side of the city Garda Ciara Moran.

“Young girls are being caught for theft a lot. Fashion is important to them, keeping up with their friends, they are influenced by others to go into shops to rob. Peer pressure is a huge issue.  It’s the same as drinking. They’re afraid to say no and they give in.”

The garda juvenile diversion programme is a statutory option provided for under the Children Act 2001 to address the offending behaviour of children and teenagers.

The aim of the programme is to prevent young offenders from entering into the full criminal justice system by offering them a second chance.

By maintaining informal contacts with the youths at risk and liaising with teachers, Health Service Executive (HSE) staff, school attendance officers and other gardaí, the JLOs are at the front line of decreasing the crime rate in a very real way.

Instead of getting a criminal record, those deemed suitable for the programme by the Director of the Garda Office for Children and Youth Affairs at Harcourt Square in Dublin are dealt with by means of a caution. They may be ordered to take part in programmes run by groups such as Youth Work Ireland or Foróige. 

In the latest annual report from An Garda Síochána on the programme, using statistics from 2011, there were 1,069 referrals in Galway – the highest number of such referrals in the Western region. There were three times as many males as females referred to the scheme.

“In order for a young person to get cautioned they have to accept responsibility for their actions. It can be an informal caution or a formal caution, depending on the seriousness of the offence or whether they’re  repeat offenders,” explains Ciara.

“Conditions can be attached to the caution, we may impose a curfew, ask the child to go to addiction counselling or direct them to an anger management course.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.