.....Senator Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 6:

In page 9, to delete line 5.

Amendments Nos. 6, 7, 9, 12, and 13 relate to stop-and-search powers. Obviously, many of the exceptions referenced are hugely important to relevant articles, but not necessarily in terms of recodifying some very concerning stop-and-search powers within this legislation. This suite of amendments seeks to narrow the definition of what constitutes a relevant article under this Bill, which we believe is far too wide as drafted. Given how invasive, degrading and humiliating an experience it can be to be stopped and searched by gardaí, it is absolutely essential that there are sufficient guardrails and robust safeguards in place to prevent abuse of these powers. Under the proposed legislation, An Garda Síochána will be able to stop and search individuals where they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is in possession of a relevant article. This will become the foundational basis for An Garda Síochána to exercise stop-and-search powers and the circumstances under which a significant number of interactions between the public and the gardaí will take place.

At the moment, the vast majority of stop-and-searches by gardaí are undertaken under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. Under this Act, gardaí are empowered to stop and search someone in a public place or in a vehicle if they reasonably suspect that a person is in possession of a prohibited substance as an offence under section 3 of the Act. It has been demonstrated in Ireland that the courts are usually quite deferential to the legal thresholds for police searches set out by the Oireachtas, meaning that the gardaí currently have wide discretion to exercise their stop-and-search powers. Those who observe stop-and-searches rightly assume that the person subject to a stop-and-search has done something wrong, but research demonstrates that in the overwhelming majority of instances of stop-and-search, no criminal wrongdoing is detected. Subsequently, those subject to stop-and-search develop a highly negative view of the interaction, which feeds into the negative perceptions of policing in the community, undermining police and community relations.

Contact with the criminal justice system is shaped partially by behaviour, but also by visibility and enforcement. In particular, the experience of being stopped and searched by gardaí is effectively normalised. This is because people are more likely to be stopped indiscriminately by the gardaí if they are from a community that is overpoliced or where police-community relations are under strain than if they are from a far more affluent community where there is a greater sense of trust between the community and the police. It is not the case that working-class communities or minority communities are inherently more violent or more prone to criminal activity, yet they bear the brunt of the State's policing responses.

We should facilitate a discussion at another stage on the social determinants of crime, and the social, economic and environmental factors, which we know to be the most significant drivers of criminality, but we must also recognise the stigma that comes from being part of an under-served or under-represented community, and how this shapes interaction between the gardaí and the community. Research demonstrates that under-served and under-represented communities recognise frequent, routine contact with gardaí as part of everyday life in their areas, but it is not the case that the presence of An Garda Síochána in these communities has made them any safer, or even provided a feeling of safety for the community. Rather, it serves to undermine relations between the community and police, and erodes trust which effective policing relies on.

According to a recent report published by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, IPRT, called From Punishment to Prevention, place-based factors such as income inequality, labour market conditions, housing insecurity, social exclusion and weak community infrastructure contribute to higher levels of crime, victimisation and greater justice system contact, with more frequent and more intrusive policing. For many of the IPRT's research participants, being known in their local community meant being stopped repeatedly by gardaí while going about ordinary activities, even when no offence had been committed.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Victor Boyhan): It is now 9 o'clock. Sorry, I am looking at a clock with a different time. The Senator has about a minute.

Senator Lynn Ruane: I have lost my flow. Time is a construct. Very briefly, section 3 is most concerning to me. It is used and abused so much. You cannot take section 3 of the stop-and-search powers alone. Sections 2, 3, 15 and 23 of the drugs Act are obviously all inter-related, so when we mention them with regard to this Bill, it is hard not to take them as a suite of stop-and-search powers in relation to possession. I grew up in a community where we were stopped and searched daily, even as children. You began to run from the police even if you saw them just drive by, even though you had not done anything, as a form of resistance to being stopped and searched consistently and constantly, whether you were walking through a park or standing outside an estate. Apparently, if you are in a group of people in a community like mine, you are a gang. If you are a group of people in a community that is not overly policed, maybe you are just hitting a ball with a hurl or doing things as a group.

All of a sudden, when people come into a community like mine and they profile others in a perfect way, a group becomes a gang. People standing around together is not a gang but they get stopped and searched all of the time under this power.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Victor Boyhan): As it is now 9 p.m., the debate must be adjourned in accordance with the order of the Seanad today.