Criminal Chaos

Ireland's crime scene has experienced a drastic disimprovement. The political establishment and state institutions, such as the police, the courts, and the penal system, have failed to rise to the challenge. Unrelenting media focus on the growth of crime and violence in Irish society has helped generate a climate of exaggerated public fear, promoting a 'get tough' political agenda. This book dicusses the multiple crises in the social and criminal justice system responses to crime and its causes. It provides an in-depth examination of: * The 'hardline' consensus between politicians, the media and the 'moral majority' resulting in draconian legislation and incursions on traditional civil liberties * Violent crime * Drug-related crime * Sexual offending, including child sexual abuse * Demoralisation in the suggested structural and policy changes * Malaise in the Garda Siochana, the Irish national police force, and suggested structural and policy changes * The 'culture of non-accountability' in Irish public life.