Progress on Pilot Community Court – Stanton

Fine Gael TD for Cork East and Chair of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, David Stanton has welcomed progress in the development of proposals to establish the country’s first Community Court on a pilot basis. This follows the recommendation by Oireachtas Justice Committee to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald TD in July 2014, to establish a pilot Community Court.

“As Chair of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, I welcome further progress in the development of proposals for a pilot community court in Dublin City Centre. I understand that a meeting was held in May 2015 between key justice sector stakeholders and as work will continue over the summer months, the Minister Fitzgerald expects to be in a position to bring forward proposals in early Autumn.

“A Community Courts system has worked well in many other jurisdictions such as cities in the US, Canada and the UK. They take a problem solving approach to dealing with low-level crime and engage with the public to seek solutions appropriate to the community in which they are based.   For this reason, I welcome the fact that a thorough consultation process with key stakeholders, led by the Department of Justice will be completed before any pilot is launched.

“I am pleased that the proposals of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, which resulted from submissions from interested parties in late 2013, hearings in January 2014 and the final report, have fed into the consultation process to establish a pilot Community Court.   The Committee recommended that a pilot be launched initially in a Dublin City Centre district, and if successful, be extended over time to other cities and locations across the country.

“The aim of Community Courts is to deal swiftly with minor crimes such as disorderly conduct, anti-social behaviour, petty theft and minor criminal damage.   The vast majority of offenders receive community service orders which are carried out in the community, but some offenders can end up in prison.  

“The success of the Community Court system is that it reduces numbers incarcerated, reduces crime in the area in which the court is based and also reduces reoffending, all of which benefit not just the offenders but the wider community.   I look forward to seeing the Minister’s proposals in the coming months”, concluded Deputy Stanton.