Calls for early intervention to tackle youth offending

The Director of Ireland's sole child detention facility, Oberstown, has emphasized the critical need for early intervention to combat youth offending. Damien Hernon highlighted that the facility's demographic typically exhibits characteristics such as recreational drug use, parental absence, and non-attendance at school.

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our demographic is pretty typical, the characteristics are typical of the young people who come in ... recreational drug users, absent parents, non-school attendance.

Hernon explained that the practice of using detention as a last resort, for the shortest possible duration, is crucial for reducing future youth offending rates. He noted that the president of the district court regularly expresses efforts to keep young people out of detention, as early entry significantly increases the likelihood of prolonged detention into adulthood.

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So that principle of early intervention and how we enhance that across the different groups may make an impact.

However, Hernon acknowledged a recent rise in serious offenses among young detainees, including sexual harm and homicide, describing it as a relatively new phenomenon over the past four to six years. This escalation presents complex behavioral challenges that Oberstown has had to address through enhanced programming, key working teams, and a placement planning process.

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I meet with the president of the district court regularly and he will tell you they go to extreme lengths to try and keep young people out of detention, because if we accept that someone comes into detention at 14 years of age, the chances are they have a much higher chance then that they're going to be in detention throughout their teenage years into adult life.

In addition to these concerns, Hernon urged a halt to a work-to-rule protest by Oberstown staff. He warned that the industrial action could heighten risks and impede progress on resolving issues, particularly those related to parity. Hernon stated that a "ceasefire" is necessary to move forward on these matters.

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Across recent years the tariff of offences has increased from sexually harmful behaviour to taking people's lives either through manslaughter or murder. It's a relatively new phenomenon, I suppose, across the last four or six years.