Two hundred “repeat offenders” will be targeted by a new government strategy to tackle rising levels of crime.
The strategy is part of a new initiative involving Gardaí, the Probation Service and the Irish Prison Service.
The Joint Agency Response to Crime initiative (J-ARC) will see the repeatoffenders take part in programmes to help them reconnect with their families. They will also be receiving treatments for problems such as addiction and get help finding training or work placement.
Launching the scheme in Dublin today, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said: “I would also like to oversee a system which aims to reduce the number of victims by a reduction in offending”.
“The launch of J-ARC today is an endorsement of the work done by criminal justice agencies and community organisations together in challenging offending behaviour which has at its centre the needs of victims to feel safer in their communities.”
The J-ARC strategy prioritises certain repeat offenders and aims to develop specific initiatives which will address their behaviour and reduce crime. it is hoped that this will thereby increasing community safety.
In Ireland it is estimated that 75% of property crime is linked to 25% of offenders.
“Targeting this cohort of repeat offenders has the potential to significantly reduce the number of burglaries being committed,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
“While I believe that prison is the right place for serious and serial offenders, listening to the offenders who are participating in the J-ARC programmes clearly demonstrates the real benefit of providing support and hope to those who wish to change their offending ways.
“A change in a person’s offending ways has a direct effect on reducing the number of crime victims.”