The State of O'Connell St

themandan6611

Mance Rayder wrote: »

I looked behind me and there was this teenager in a tracksuit trying to kick me, He hit my coat instead.

why type of coat were you wearing ?

Mance Rayder

John_Rambo wrote: »

Easy tiger, I just think there's a touch of drama to your post about being "attacked".

So someone swinging a kick at you on a busy city street is not an attack?

Mr Simpson

starviewadams wrote: »

All uniformed Gardai wear stab vests when on patrol don't they?it's not just exclusive to those who patrol O'Connell Street.

The only uniformed Garda that I've seen not wearing one was up in my Dad's tiny hometown in Donegal.More Herald sensationalism!

That senator is going a bit overboard too,I know O'Connell Street aint pretty and the addicts are a major pain in the arse to local businesses,but I walk up and down the street every morning and evening and never felt unsafe.I've walked there on nights out at 1/2am and it's no different to any other street at night.You'll be fine if you keep your wits about you,like in any other major city.

Junkies were not the reason they got stab vests. A stab vest protects your vital organs from a knife attack, its gonna do sweet fa if a junkie goes at you with a syringe cos chances are they aren't going to go for your chest or abdomen. I really hate the herald.

Degsy

Mance Rayder wrote: »

So someone swinging a kick at you on a busy city street is not an attack?

Not if they only catch the hem of your frock-coat...and if they're a child.

christmas2012

Ive been to dublin just last week visiting and o connell st,marlboro street,and westmoreland street were bad enough with junkies about,i seen two stumbling down o connell street,they looked like they were goofed on heroin,they need to get the gards to move them on and take it seriously all it takes is one pissed off junkie thats unhappy about their life to lash out on an unsuspecting member of the public and it could have fatal consequences..

by moving them on they know that the gards are watching them and they might not be as bold to do other things such as hassling people and muggings or graduating on to shoplifting or burlgaries..

if they are watched and moved on regularly they might not feel as emboldened to graduate on to other crimes which can happen if the gards arent vigilant.

mattjack

christmas2012 wrote: »

Ive been to dublin just last week visiting and o connell st,marlboro street,and westmoreland street were bad enough with junkies about,i seen two stumbling down o connell street,they looked like they were goofed on heroin,they need to get the gards to move them on and take it seriously all it takes is one pissed off junkie thats unhappy about their life to lash out on an unsuspecting member of the public and it could have fatal consequences..

by moving them on they know that the gards are watching them and they might not be as bold to do other things such as hassling people and muggings or graduating on to shoplifting or burlgaries..

if they are watched and moved on regularly they might not feel as emboldened to graduate on to other crimes which can happen if the gards arent vigilant.

I hope you did your civic duty and called the Gardai.

christmas2012

nope i didnt but i wish i did,i was in a bit of a hurry running up the street to catch the bus..but if i had the time i would have thought about it

mattjack

christmas2012 wrote: »

nope i didnt but i wish i did,i was in a bit of a hurry running up the street to catch the bus..but if i had the time i would have thought about it

Sure , come back up next week and keep the Gardai busy.

spurious

I don't know where you're seeing all these killer junkies - almost all the ones I see are whacked out, carrying coffee cups and roaring 'Traaaaceeeeey!!!!!' up the road at their mates.

It's like they don't even see us 'normal' citizens.

I've never felt under threat by them. Gangs of tracksuited shorties under the age of 12 are far scarier and much more likely to do you harm/nick stuff.

mattjack

spurious wrote: »

I don't know where you're seeing all these killer junkies - almost all the ones I see are whacked out, carrying coffee cups and roaring 'Traaaaceeeeey!!!!!' up the road at their mates.

It's like they don't even see us 'normal' citizens.

I've never felt under threat by them. Gangs of tracksuited shorties under the age of 12 are far scarier and much more likely to do you harm/nick stuff.

No , please not the 'shorties' now.

HellFireClub

christmas2012 wrote: »

Ive been to dublin just last week visiting and o connell st,marlboro street,and westmoreland street were bad enough with junkies about,i seen two stumbling down o connell street,they looked like they were goofed on heroin,they need to get the gards to move them on and take it seriously all it takes is one pissed off junkie thats unhappy about their life to lash out on an unsuspecting member of the public and it could have fatal consequences..

by moving them on they know that the gards are watching them and they might not be as bold to do other things such as hassling people and muggings or graduating on to shoplifting or burlgaries..

if they are watched and moved on regularly they might not feel as emboldened to graduate on to other crimes which can happen if the gards arent vigilant.

This is, and has been, the problem for years. Move them on where, to another street 100 yards up the road where they'll be p*ssing off someone else, only to be "moved on" again?!? You can't fix a problem by just "moving it on", that has never worked and never will work.

It's long since past time for two things that need to happen here for this problem to be sorted out for once and for all:

(1) New legislation that provides for (2) below.

(2) Arrest junkies and bring them to a purpose built medical facility, where they are handed a form with one of two boxes they can tick:

Box A [ ] I want to get cleaned out and will go into a dedicated state provided program (like going into hospital) to get off heroin.

Box B [ ] I don't want to tick box A or any box on this form, so therefore I'll be going to prison as I'm a threat to society.

starviewadams

HellFireClub wrote: »

This is, and has been, the problem for years. Move them on where, to another street 100 yards up the road where they'll be p*ssing off someone else, only to be "moved on" again?!? You can't fix a problem by just "moving it on", that has never worked and never will work.

It's long since past time for two things that need to happen here for this problem to be sorted out for once and for all:

(1) New legislation that provides for (2) below.

(2) Arrest junkies and bring them to a purpose built medical facility, where they are handed a form with one of two boxes they can tick:

Box A [ ] I want to get cleaned out and will go into a dedicated state provided program (like going into hospital) to get off heroin.

Box B [ ] I don't want to tick box A or any box on this form, so therefore I'll be going to prison as I'm a threat to society.

Might be able to bring in new legislation but there's no new money to fund either of those two choices.

Either move the methadone clinics out of the City Centre or designate a zone somewhere where addicts can congregate and do whatever they want to do away from the eyes of tourists etc.

christmas2012

Ya i see what youre saying i suppose something needs to be done about this situation,BUT,there is a problem at the moment with overcrowding in prisons,and alan shatter has recently introduced an early release programme for all prisoners in ireland to alleviate the symptoms of over crowding..http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0501/1224315408098.html

mattjack

HellFireClub wrote: »

This is, and has been, the problem for years. Move them on where, to another street 100 yards up the road where they'll be p*ssing off someone else, only to be "moved on" again?!? You can't fix a problem by just "moving it on", that has never worked and never will work.

It's long since past time for two things that need to happen here for this problem to be sorted out for once and for all:

(1) New legislation that provides for (2) below.

(2) Arrest junkies and bring them to a purpose built medical facility, where they are handed a form with one of two boxes they can tick:

Box A [ ] I want to get cleaned out and will go into a dedicated state provided program (like going into hospital) to get off heroin.

Box B [ ] I don't want to tick box A or any box on this form, so therefore I'll be going to prison as I'm a threat to society.

Would you arrest every single addict ?

Mance Rayder

mattjack wrote: »

Would you arrest every single addict ?

Arrest every addict and put them into a closed mental facility untill they are well enough to re-enter normal society.

Think_then_talk

While waiting for a 46a bus on O'Connell Street I was asked twice in the space of 15 mins if I was "looking" now "are you looking" is some sort of code for drugs. This fella was around six foot tall he was standing out on the footpath asking people. One fella stopped and they went down a side street by the tax office to get his fix, the seller was back walking by asking anyone & everyone that went by. Come on now a garda van parked across the way next to the spire and not a garda in sight. It's a joke

Sunnyisland

Think_then_talk wrote: »

While waiting for a 46a bus on O'Connell Street I was asked twice in the space of 15 mins if I was "looking" now "are you looking" is some sort of code for drugs. This fella was around six foot tall he was standing out on the footpath asking people. One fella stopped and they went down a side street by the tax office to get his fix, the seller was back walking by asking anyone & everyone that went by. Come on now a garda van parked across the way next to the spire and not a garda in sight. It's a joke

They be asking are you looking to score, to buy .( not football as in drugs)

Firegaurd

I travel around a bit and have to stay over in most of cities and when Im in Dublin its the only time I dont feel safe. Admittedly every city including my own has dodgy areas but Dublin seems to have its dody area where visitors and tourists stay.

Its an absolute disgrace that you can't walk down the main street without being hassled by some scobe or begged off by some group of gypsies. Im all for tolerant policing but the druggies and scumbags know little or nothing will be done when they step out of line.

Instead of investing money in Bord Failte to promote Dublin we should spend the money cleaning up the streets from the scum who now seem to control it.

starviewadams

Mance Rayder wrote: »

Arrest every addict and put them into a closed mental facility untill they are well enough to re-enter normal society.

Completely unworkable and most probably against basic human rights laws too.

mattjack

Mance Rayder wrote: »

Arrest every addict and put them into a closed mental facility untill they are well enough to re-enter normal society.

In excess of 14,000 .. I think.

christmas2012

In new york they have a zero tolerance policy,and they have beat cops and cops in cars EVERYWHERE,they started it in the mid eighties where crime in the city centre went around times square and all that area went through the roof,junkies and hookers and pimps,everywhere,with scobes hanging around carrying weapons,people would be murdered on nearly a daily basis there,or were at high risk of it..

by moving them on or rounding them up in a paddy van,you are sending out a message that 'you are being watched',i think its a very powerful message and it will affect what they do,they mightnt be as emboldened to graduate on to other crimes,it is only until a fatality occurs that our slow SLOW police force and even SLOWER government will do anything about it,and by then it is too late unfortunately..

mattjack

Think_then_talk wrote: »

While waiting for a 46a bus on O'Connell Street I was asked twice in the space of 15 mins if I was "looking" now "are you looking" is some sort of code for drugs. This fella was around six foot tall he was standing out on the footpath asking people. One fella stopped and they went down a side street by the tax office to get his fix, the seller was back walking by asking anyone & everyone that went by. Come on now a garda van parked across the way next to the spire and not a garda in sight. It's a joke

When you rang the Gardai, just before you came in here to post, what did they say to you ?

Firegaurd

RMD wrote: »

To say you feel so unsafe you wont walk down O'Connell street is ridiculous. I walked the length of Marlborough street twice a day 5 days a week for 6 years in a row, nothing ever happened to me and not once did I feel threatened.

I'm not a big guy, when you actually walk by these zombies instead of doing your best to avoid them you'll realise there a bunch of people who can barely stand because they're so out of their heads. One tried to take a swing at my friend before, he fell over in the process and only hurt himself. That's the limit for how "threatened" I've felt.

I completely agree with you that theyre not the "most threatening" of people but do you really think its right that people should have to entertain that at all ?

sdanseo

Junkies and beggars ruin the place, some pro-active policing to get rid of them would be a sight to behold.

There's nothing particuarly wrong with the street itself except for the area opposite the Gresham were the Arcade, etc are - the buildings need to be tidied up.

As for safety, I've not once felt genuinely unsafe in the inner city. I avoid the back lanes, but on the likes of O'Connell St, Marlborough St, even Sackville place I've been walking around there on my own since I was a kid and never once felt particuarly uncomfortable - more disgusted at the filth that litter the place sometimes.

Neeson

Anyone else ever get zoned up upon by that mute Romanian person. Creeps up and just holds out a hand without muttering a thing.

FishBowel

All the money spent doing up O'Connell Street and cutting down those trees and now it's worse than ever.

Zhane

Neeson wrote: »

Anyone else ever get zoned up upon by that mute Romanian person. Creeps up and just holds out a hand without muttering a thing.

Twice in the space of an hour! Damn bus being late!

HellFireClub

mattjack wrote: »

Would you arrest every single addict ?

I'd start with those who Gardai receive a complaint about, who are harassing law abiding people in the city centre. If that person, who is the subject of the complaint, has a string of previous convictions, (convictions which have obviously failed to rectify the problematic behavior of the drug user if they are still re-offending), then I'd make it compulsory for a judge to have to place the person into the medical state facility that can deal with the root cause of the issue which is a drug dependency, once that person appears before them on a fixed number of drug related public order charges.

mattjack

HellFireClub wrote: »

I'd start with those who Gardai receive a complaint about, who are harassing law abiding people in the city centre. If that person, who is the subject of the complaint, has a string of previous convictions, (convictions which have obviously failed to rectify the problematic behavior of the drug user if they are still re-offending), then I'd make it compulsory for a judge to have to place the person into the medical state facility that can deal with the root cause of the issue which is a drug dependency, once that person appears before them on a fixed number of drug related public order charges.

How would you fund it ?

Dyr

Think_then_talk wrote: »

While waiting for a 46a bus on O'Connell Street I was asked twice in the space of 15 mins if I was "looking" now "are you looking" is some sort of code for drugs.

no way?? :eek: