Joyriding Back on the Agenda

Young people were back in the headlines this week with the very serious incident of joyriding in Cherry Orchard. Video footage was widely circulated of a large group of young people cheering at two cars joyriding, with one then proceeding to ram a Garda car. The incident that took place in the early evening while it was still bright outside has understandably generated a lot of outrage and concern.

This event has been widely condemned across society from community representatives, Gardai, politicians and the general public. Solas Project joins in condemning all activities where anyone’s safety is put at risk and supports the rights of everyone to live in communities free from fear of incidents such as these. We advocate for policies that address the root causes of incidents such as these and not knee-jerk reactions to those involved.

We believe that prevention should always be prioritised over punishment.

Joyriding is not a new phenomenon for young people. Our Youth Justice Programmes Manager Ashling Golden recently completed her master’s dissertation researching young people involved in this activity. She looked at what compels young people towards driving illegally and what supports their diversion from it. 

From our work on the ground with young people who are early school leavers, facing employment and disconnected from their communities we have seen that it is the young people who are most excluded who engage in more serious and prolific offending behaviours. Our experience has shown that the resulting further exclusion from their communities in the form of harsh punishments does not bring about pro-social change.

Extreme events like the one last week come as a result of young people continually slipping, or being pushed, through the cracks. The research we conducted is supported by international studies suggesting that joyriding lures young people who are attracted to risk-taking behaviours.

Considering the exclusion they already experience there is a sense of “nothing to lose”.

Young people engaging in these behaviours believe that the benefits of joyriding outweigh the consequences. The benefits include: a feeling of power gained in being a champion; the status of being anti-authority; and the encouraging attention of the crowd. We could see this at play in this week’s event with the significant role played by large crowd of young people cheering on. These motivations must be taken into consideration in our societal response.

Young people who are gaining a sense of worth through these activities need alternative avenues to gain this worth and to build a brighter future.

Disadvantaged communities across the city need increased support for young people, from safe spaces to build positive relationships to employment opportunities and outlets for safe high-risk leisure activities such as biking and driving.

Our research shows that the current response to driving offences in Ireland (a driving ban or on a more serious occasions, imprisonment) does not have a significant impact on preventing this type of behaviour. In fact, the opposite can be the case, as these approaches can perpetuate the “nothing to lose” attitude. Much more successful outcomes are achieved when the young people involved get the opportunity to:

• Learn to drive legally;

• Build strong healthy relationships within their communities;

• Move into meaningful employment.

Solas Project is calling for this recent incident to be a catalyst for change. One of our core values is Justice, this means actively supporting young people to overcome barriers and encouraging them to pursue a more just society where everyone can flourish. It is no coincidence that the young people involved in incidents like this are those who have been routinely excluded from society from a young age, from schools, clubs, sports teams etc.

Young people need to be invested in, to be provided with safe spaces to build their self-worth and develop a hope for their future.

Our call is for those most marginalised young people in our communities not to be further excluded. We want to see local communities, young people, politicians and the Gardai work together to tackle exclusion and break the generational poverty cycle.

“We cannot arrest our way out of Crime & Social Exclusion”

Note: This piece was written before this week's shooting of a 17-year-old here in the South West Inner City. However, in light of this event its content is more relevant than ever. We believe that every young person has the right to grow up in a world where they can be safe and live free from the dangers of the criminal world and are committed to being active at community and policy level so this can become a reality.

This week the Department of Justice launched its Justice Strategy Statement and the Justice Plan 2021. The launch occurred against the backdrop of a recent spate of serious crime involving young people around Dublin City. In one case, this resulted in the death of a young person and in another, the death of a woman walking home from work. Speaking at the launch, Minister James Browne stated:

“We cannot arrest our way out of crime, we cannot arrest our way out of social exclusion, and we cannot arrest our way out of poverty. We need to develop social capital by supporting families and communities and by empowering youth workers.”

Solas Project fully supports this statement.  We also recognise the seriousness of these issues and condemn attacks on all people. We want to be part of building a city where everyone – young, old, all races, genders and creed – can live safely and free from intimidation and indeed violence.

We believe that it is not enough to express horror and condemn such violence, but that action is required. We are concerned about some commentary and calls for action against young people living in our city. These calls range from demanding harsher sentences “lock them up and throw away the key”, to the complete dehumanising of these young people and disregard for their age, circumstances or their potential to change.

While harsher sentences might seem a like a good quick fix they do little to stop crime happening in the first place. We are calling for a focus on prevention rather than punishment. Research suggests that harsher sentences do little to deter a young person from acting in a certain way. A young person who picks up a knife is not in that moment considering the difference between a 2-year or a 5-year prison sentence. They are caught up on the issue at hand: What do they need the money for? Why are they feeling threatened? How can they defend themselves?

So what is the solution?

In 2005, in response to serious youth-based knife crime, the Scottish Government launched the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and started treating knife crime with a public health approach. This government funded unit operates by forming strong, close relationships between the police and key workers in the health, education and social sectors to support vulnerable young people in often neglected communities. The objective of the VRU is to offer these individuals alternative opportunities, and crucially, a way out of the spiral of violence that they often find themselves in.

This community-led approach sees the police engage directly with the young people most at risk of engaging in violence. Young people are spoken to in plain terms and develop positive relationships with mentors in key sectors. The success of this public health approach can be seen in the statistics, most notably that since the establishment of the VRU, the number of homicides in Glasgow has dropped by 65%.

Solas Project currently operates the Rua programme which works intensely with young people caught up in the criminal justice system to support them in building a new crime-free, positive life. At the halfway point of this 4-year intervention, over 50% of the young people had halted the downward trajectory of their life. Investment into a programme such at the VRU in Scotland or Rua here in Dublin would not only reduce serious crime and makes society safer, it would allow these young people to grow and flourish. 

It is also important to look at what is causing this rise in youth-based crime. What has allowed for the creation of this sub-culture?

We know that crime rises during periods of growing inequality and austerity. The young people involved in this behaviour have grown up during a decade of austerity and are suffering the consequences of social neglect and poverty. The communities where these events are taking place are also those that suffer the highest level of social neglect, unemployment and low education attainment. This sadly is not a coincidence.

We also cannot ignore the growing negative influence of the drug industry on young people in these communities. Recent research carried out by Dr Johnny Connolly from The University of Limerick suggests that in one part of Dublin, children as young as 10 or 11 – many of whom are still in primary school – are groomed by the gangs to be runners and carriers and are considered to be both “expendable” and “plentiful”. We simply cannot talk about tackling youth crime without addressing the influence that these criminal gangs are having on our young people.  

Alongside these factors we are now approaching almost one year of living through a global pandemic. The supports and structures that young people have typically relied on; school, sports, youth services etc. have been eroded leaving idle and impressionable young people behind, making them more vulnerable to both criminal grooming and addiction.

Solas Project is calling for preventative action that is community based with the needs of young people at its core.

We value the important role that Gardai play in promoting safe communities. We are calling for a concentration on community policing with a dialogue and solution-focused policing strategy, rather than the introduction of increased stop and search methods than can add to already existing tension in the community.

We are calling for targeted youth programmes that engage long-term with high-risk young people.

We are calling for the full implementation of the new Youth Justice Strategy 2021 -2026 (due to be launched soon) with a concentration on early intervention and prevention rather than punishment.

We believe that every young person has the right to grow up in a world where they can be safe and live free from the dangers of the criminal world. This is not just something that should be the privilege of those who live in wealthier areas of the city, this is a right for all our children and young people.

Mizen to Malin Cycle in Memory of Graham Jones

DAY 1 mizen head, co. cork

On the 6th September a small group of eager yet somewhat naive novice cyclists gathered together in West Cork to prepare for the beginning of an adventure. With the weeks previous unleashing injury upon injury on us, mixed with Covid fears, we breathed deeply in a cosy pub in Schull, not quite believing we had made it this far. That evening we fuelled on carbs, and laughed nervously about what lay ahead. 

In 2017, our dear friend and Solas Project Co-founder Graham Jones, considered embarking on a cycle from Mizen Head to Malin Head. If you knew Graham, you know he could convince you into anything before you knew what was happening! This is how we found ourselves the following morning, embarking from a breezy Mizen head to begin propelling ourselves up the length of the island of Ireland. We had no doubt that if Graham were to attempt this cycle he would have done so with a lot of heart, and little preparation. And while we did attempt to put in some training, and found ourselves a top-notch support crew, we did our best to replicate just that.

As we glided up the Mizen peninsula we quickly found our groove as a team,and were pleasantly surprised by how our strengths complemented each other. Naturally, people found their ways of supporting each other, whether through navigation, encouragement, laughter, or food! It is hard even now not to smile while remembering the camaraderie and support we offered to each other from the get go, as well as the antics and craic! 

Each morning we began with a thought that we could then reflect on throughout the day as we cycled. With Graham as our inspiration, we talked about what it means to us to live a flourishing life, we chatted about identity and friendship and team. Graham came up often in these conversations as we remembered the positive ways he impacted our lives. 

Continuing our journey through the counties, we were overcome by the generosity of our cheerleaders donations, as well as the gifts from random strangers we passed along the way. At petrol stations, in town squares, in the middle of the road(!!!), people called us over to give us donations towards our cause, Solas Project. In both Cork and Galway, we anticipated a driver was beckoning us over to moan about our nuisance on the road, only to be melted as they placed cash firmly in our hand (…don’t worry we had hand sanitiser at the ready!). 

As we panted over undulating hills, meandered traffic filled cities, and sailed along stunning coastlines, we chatted, sang, laughed or cried depending on how the day was going! At times we sang ‘Ireland’s Call’, or to the delight of some and dismay of others, quoted Yeats to inspire us up the next incline. But whatever the day, and whoever the teammate that happened beside you on a given stretch, encouraging conversation and welcome distraction were always to hand. And if that was a miss someone was likely to belt out a chorus of our altered VengaBoys tune ‘We Like to Cycle’ to motivate you along!

During the week we began a team bonding event of sea swimming - again to the great delight of some, and dismay of others. Under the guise of muscle relief, we managed to coax every member of our team into the icy sea of Enniscrone! This tradition was made all the more special by the arrival of friends along the way. In Donegal we were joined by Graham’s wife, Louise and her girls who could not be dissuaded from running into the sea with us. It was such a boost to our tired bodies to see the smiling faces of the extended Jones family as we arrived in Letterkenny, and a pure delight to have them with us as we completed the journey. 

Although the last day did not go as we had anticipated, with a crosswind taking some of dear friends off course, we paused for the night. Once assured that their injuries were being looked after, and with their blessing, the following morning we took back to the road to begin our final ascent to Malin Head. Albeit the final hill was one of the steepest of the journey, we managed to push our way up largely motivated by our screaming supporters. With sighs of delighted disbelief we took in our surroundings and breathed deep the magnificent headland.

It is difficult to describe the support we felt from people around the country cheering us on.  We are so chuffed and overwhelmed to have raised over €20,000 in donations. Through our own personal involvement with Solas Project we have come to really value the incredible work they do and couldn’t be more delighted to support this worthy cause. 

If you would like to donate to the cause you still can here.  

DAY 8 malin head, co. donegal