Republican News · Thursday 16 January 2002

Knee-jerk reaction not enough

The death of taxi-driver Robert McGowan, whose car was ploughed into by so-called joyriders in Dublin during the early hours of Saturday morning, one of whom, Edward Gavin, also died, should never have happened.

'Joyriding' has been the scourge of primarily urban areas of the 26 and Six Counties for the last 20 years. In some areas of Dublin and Belfast, it is rare if there isn't at least one stolen car ripping through the streets on any given night. Kids with plenty of time on their hands, and not much to do with it, routinely put their lives and those of others at risk.

Again and again, residents' groups and councillors in these areas worst affected try to bring the problem to the attention of the relevant authorities and the media, but nobody shows any interest until the absolute worst happens, and somebody dies.

Teenagers involved in this type of car crime, known in Belfast as death drivers, typically have a string of previous convictions for joyriding and other offences. But it is no coincidence that these young people, so familiar with the legal system that a court appearance means nothing, are typically from some of the most deprived areas.

As Father Peter McVerry reminded Pat Kenny on Wednesday morning, these are the children who need some sort of intervention at five or six years of age, not at 16, when they are already disaffected and feel they have no stake in society.

Compounding the problem, judges have nowhere to send young offenders and are more often than not reduced to sending them back onto the streets, avoiding punishment but also being denied the opportunity to seek help. And the cycle continues.

It is disgrace enough that the state does not have near adequate detention or rehabilitation facilities for young offenders. It is an even greater indictment of the establishments north and south that the welfare of young people is so blithely ignored until they emerge as angry teenagers and start affecting wider society.

There remains a short-sighted but deliberate tolerance of poverty and the type of crime it gives rise to, as long as most of it is confined to problem estates and areas, that is.

The only real long-term deterrant lies in tackling the causes of anti-social behaviour, and the key to that is tackling poverty. You can't have a society as unequal and unjust as ours and expect not to have social problems.

Those whose policies have served to widen the gap between rich and poor and deny equality to children growing up in deprived areas must accept their share of responsibility for Robert McGowan's untimely and tragic death.