Zero Tolerance for Dublin City Centre, would it work?

whomitconcerns

why do people argue on this topic so much...There is no doubt in anyones mind here in reality what we mean by scumbags....As was put earlier the zombie nasaly "whachoo lookin at" types...

They need to be all shipped out of the city centre..other countries have city centre crime, but thats it crime, not these waves of anti social dregs walking the city centre streets.

And yes I would sooner watch out for infrequent actual crime in the cc rather than constant annoying scum...

jonnny68

whomitconcerns wrote: »

why do people argue on this topic so much...There is no doubt in anyones mind here in reality what we mean by scumbags....As was put earlier the zombie nasaly "whachoo lookin at" types...

They need to be all shipped out of the city centre..other countries have city centre crime, but thats it crime, not these waves of anti social dregs walking the city centre streets.

And yes I would sooner watch out for infrequent actual crime in the cc rather than constant annoying scum...

Totally agree , 3 times in as many weeks ive seen some zombie junkie with a screwdriver trying to rob an Eircom telephone box on the junction of Parnell / O Connell Street in broad daylight and not one cop to be seen, incredible, obviously i was not going to challenge this scumbag for fear he might turn the screwdriver on me.

Dublin city centre is awash with zombie junkies selling each other heroin,etc,etc and up to all sorts, i can only imagine what tourists must think, yet nothing is done about it.

This is not acceptable, you wouldnt see this happening in leafy suburbs of Dublin 4 or the likes, the first sight of some junkie you'd probably get an armed response unit dispatched to arrest him.

Much and all as i love my own City but at the same time i utterly despair at times.

hotbabe1992

Not if that means you can demand that anyone you don't like the look of has to be forcibly removed in order for you to enjoy it, it doesn't.

When you get mugged by a junkie like my cousin did you wont have the same bleeding hearts view of this situation.

As it is in dublin - as a outsider , i think its very much out of control.


If they are taken off the streets just for a few hours (rounded up in the cells to cool off)it could give commuters,shoppers and other people a break a bit of respite from what usually goes down.

spurious

Very few of the phone snatches etc. in the city centre are done by junkies. They just are not with it enough to be that organised.

The real detritus are the underage little brats who know they are untouchable and whose parents are of the same ilk and have no problem with them arriving home with an assortment of other people's phones, laptops and other property.

whomitconcerns

when smartphones first came out, some skobe on a bike tried to steal mine (I had won one from VF and there were VERY few available and very expensive), I held on to it too tight and he ended up stealing my glasses instead :P

miss no stars

spurious wrote: »

Very few of the phone snatches etc. in the city centre are done by junkies. They just are not with it enough to be that organised.

The real detritus are the underage little brats who know they are untouchable and whose parents are of the same ilk and have no problem with them arriving home with an assortment of other people's phones, laptops and other property.

Yeah but in fairness, the stabbings, shouting, roaring, drug dealing, fighting, aggressive begging, intimidation, harassment, sex, pissing and sh!tting all over the place is the junkies.

hotbabe1992

Very few of the phone snatches etc. in the city centre are done by junkies. They just are not with it enough to be that organised.

The real detritus are the underage little brats who know they are untouchable and whose parents are of the same ilk and have no problem with them arriving home with an assortment of other people's phones, laptops and other property.

Yeah i understand most of it is scobes not junkies but theres always one or two that will try their luck as they are desperate.

Was on the 10 euro bus at westmoreland st where a junkie was rummaging in the bag dept he got caught and the bus driver threatened to ring the guards.The junkie said ''go on ring the guards''.He was brazen and knew very much what he was doing.You could tell he was a junkie too.

I think to tackle the problem you need on the beat gards everywhere and patrols,i dont understand how gardai are pushing paper like secretaries,it just boggles the mind.

Anybody who is seen to be hanging around watching people or with no purpose ie not shopping or commuting should be asked a few questions and then a decision should be made whether to move them on or not.

desertcircus

What insane parallel universe version of Dublin do you all live in? I've felt nervous in Dublin, sure, but I've felt nervous in Paris (seriously aggressive street sellers at the Sacre Coeur), Frankfurt (drunk skinheads who wanted to have a row), and God knows where else. Every city has its underclass, and they're treated in the same lousy way in most cities: we're just better able to recognise Irish "scumbags" than we are other places' "scumbags". What proportion of Dubliners have actually been assaulted by heroin addicts? How does it compare to other cities? Who cares? Let's just rant blindly about the dole, tracksuits, heroin, the accent and whatever else annoys us.

whomitconcerns

desertcircus wrote: »

What insane parallel universe version of Dublin do you all live in? I've felt nervous in Dublin, sure, but I've felt nervous in Paris (seriously aggressive street sellers at the Sacre Coeur), Frankfurt (drunk skinheads who wanted to have a row), and God knows where else. Every city has its underclass, and they're treated in the same lousy way in most cities: we're just better able to recognise Irish "scumbags" than we are other places' "scumbags". What proportion of Dubliners have actually been assaulted by heroin addicts? How does it compare to other cities? Who cares? Let's just rant blindly about the dole, tracksuits, heroin, the accent and whatever else annoys us.

Well lets see...we dont live in Paris or Frankfurt...Whats wrong with wanting our city better?

As they say if everyone else jumps off the cliff to their deaths it doesnt mean that you have to...

Reekwind

whomitconcerns wrote: »

Well lets see...we dont live in Paris or Frankfurt...Whats wrong with wanting our city better?

The problem being that people here seem to think that Dublin's city centre is on par with downtown Mogadishu. And as a result youse want to socially cleanse the city of 'undesirables' (or "dirt" or "detritus" or "scum") by shipping a whole section of the population off the some suburb or to prison. That's nuts

It's crazy both because it's the Stalinist approach to crime and because it's driven by this absolutely hysterical insistence that Dublin is becoming a war zone, one in which "ordinary citizens" are scared to enter. At which point I wonder what planet, never mind city, some people are living on. If anyone here is genuinely afraid to go shopping without a massive police operation to round all potential dangers off the streets then the problem is very much with them

Seriously, the arrogance of assumptions here (it's "our city", as if you have exclusive rights to live there) and sheer disdain for other people's rights is staggering. It's attitudes like those in this thread (sure, just lump all the poor people into ghettoes) that created those inner city enclaves of poverty in the first place

hotbabe1992 wrote:

Anybody who is seen to be hanging around watching people or with no purpose ie not shopping or commuting should be asked a few questions and then a decision should be made whether to move them on or not.

The mind does indeed boggle

Edit: In fact, my mind is boggling so much that I just read it again. This statement encapsulates much of the problem with people in this thread: the assumption the city belongs to them; that the sole purpose of the city centre is to shop or commute (so much for 'living there'); the sheer gall in assuming that anyone who does not live in the same way as them is in the wrong; and, most bafflingly, the casual call for the imposition of a police state. Bizarre

returnNull

moxin wrote: »

You'd expect this type of stuff shouldn't happen in the centre of a capital city but in Ireland it does.

And in birmingham,london and amsterdam when I lived there..its not unique to dublin.

The amount of hysteria in this thread is unreal you'd swear it was lagos
EDIT: whoops reekwind used downtown mogadishu lol..changed mine to some random african sh1thole

Straight Talker

P.Walnuts wrote: »

Jesus alot of frightened and paranoid posters on this thread. Just go about your business in town and enjoy yourselves and stop worrying what's around every corner, all this scaremongering does nobody any good, be aware of your personal safety obviously but I think people are getting carried away.

I don't think it's scaremongering at all.People are just reacting to what their seeing with their very eyes but sure you seem to be happy enough in your plastic bubble anyway.:) If you think that there is no problems with anti social behaviour and drugs related crime in certain parts of Dublin City centre then there's no point in arguing with you.Ignorance is bliss for some people i suppose!

P.Walnuts

Straight Talker wrote: »

I don't think it's scaremongering at all.People are just reacting to what their seeing with their very eyes but sure you seem to be happy enough in your plastic bubble anyway. If you think that there is no problems with anti social behaviour and drugs related crime in certain parts of Dublin City centre then there's no point in arguing with you.Ignorance is bliss for some people i suppose!

I'm perfectly happy spending my time in the city centre, you know shopping , meeting friends, going for dinner and a few pints. Feel sorry for people who are scared of their own shadow and base their lives around what they read in the Evening Hearld, or it seems to be what they read on boards.

I'm not denying their is anti social behaviour in town, but I can;t see how it impairs people's daily activities in town....oh look there is a group of junkies, they sure did bother me there to look at them for the 2 seconds it took to walk past them :rolleyes:

Straight Talker

John_Rambo wrote: »

+ 1... I don't get the paranoia. You're far more likely to get a dig in other parts of the country than Dublin. Anyone with their wits about them is perfectly safe in the city centre. Although the heroin problem is a problem, an eyesore and does cause social issues. It needs to be addressed, but it's not the Armageddon people are making it out to be. I can promise you, it affects the affected families far more than it does the people in this thread.

Well i think there is problems in certain parts of Dublin city centre and i would say the same about other cities in the country.However i don't think there's any paranoia at all.I don't feel safe in the O'Connell Street area after 6 in the evening when i used to go there and that was in the summer time.I'd barely feel safe there at 3pm in the afternoon tbh.I would feel a lot safer around the College Green area.As for the last bit in bold im not sure that the people who have been robbed or attacked by these people would agree with you.All of our cities have their nice side and aspects to them and so does Dublin but the area around O'Connell Street is a part of Dublin that has serious problems with anti social behavior and low to medium level criminality.I would also question the first bit in bold tbh.In my honest opinion i would feel safest in Limerick city centre on a night out as opposed to Dublin and Cork but that's just me.

hotbabe1992

The mind does indeed boggle

Edit: In fact, my mind is boggling so much that I just read it again. This statement encapsulates much of the problem with people in this thread: the assumption the city belongs to them; that the sole purpose of the city centre is to shop or commute (so much for 'living there'); the sheer gall in assuming that anyone who does not live in the same way as them is in the wrong; and, most bafflingly, the casual call for the imposition of a police state. Bizarre

You think its mind boggling to move a few people on who are intently watching people coming off buses from the country.?Tell me what do you think their intentions are if they are watching people coming off buses???What is your suggestion dont move them on they have human rights blah blah blah..?

If thats too much for your brain to take,wait for my next suggestion,move them out of the city from peak hours from 9-6pm,anybody loitering or up to no good watching people(its obvious the intention),should be holed up in a cell for a couple of hours,so the commuters and shoppers can get some breathing space without worrying are they going to be robbed or taken at knifepoint down some alleyway..

I was in NYC a year ago and was there over ten years ago too,and the place was very non threatening all the junkies/druggos were moved on if they reared their ugly head,there was strictly no begging or loitering looking for peoples wallets etc.

Eventhough there was a huge concentration of crowds i never once felt intimidated,but i did on the underground a few times when i lost my way but there were always cops around on the subways so i asked for directions off the cops.

They were everywhere,and thats what we need in every town and city in ireland taken by the grip of heroin.

Ole Rodrigo

The truth is it looks a lot worse than it actually is. People are right to say there is not much danger, but that doesn't take away from the fact that there is a problem with anti-social activity ( drug dealing, public intoxication, intimidation) that puts off people wanting to come into town.

miss no stars

P.Walnuts wrote: »

I'm perfectly happy spending my time in the city centre, you know shopping , meeting friends, going for dinner and a few pints. Feel sorry for people who are scared of their own shadow and base their lives around what they read in the Evening Hearld, or it seems to be what they read on boards.

I'm not denying their is anti social behaviour in town, but I can;t see how it impairs people's daily activities in town....oh look there is a group of junkies, they sure did bother me there to look at them for the 2 seconds it took to walk past them :rolleyes:

You're missing the point entirely. Walking down Henry/Mary Street, Jervis Centre, Grafton Street. They're fine. Shopping areas aren't a problem. But for many people there's a very real problem getting to and from their bus. Marlborough Street, for example, I heard is nicknamed "Murder Mile" by the bus drivers and it only takes a cursory glance down it to know why. Getting a bus from Middle Abbey Street or Eden Quay? Guaranteed to pass gangs of junkies on the way there. If they're high - great. If they're not they can be very intimidating. They DO rob people. They DO assault them. They ARE intimidating.

People are just sick of being intimidated while going about perfectly legitimate business in the city centre. So say I'm walking around to the bus on Middle Abbey Street where the footpath is narrow with shopping bags and handbag and a gang of junkies is on the footpath shouting and roaring at each other. Or there's a drug deal going on (very common in that spot) and some lowlife starts with the "wha da fuuuck aaaare ewe lookin ah?". It's not a nice scenario to find yourself in. It just isn't okay and it actually is preventable.

It's not that people here are living in a heightened sense of paranoia and fear the whole time, people are just sick of having to deal with the absolute dregs of the bottom feeders of sub-society. People are sick of hearing of innocent people being attacked and robbed them. Of having to fear for your own health and safety just to get to your bus. The city centre is there for the enjoyment of the people in the city. 50-100 junkies are currently making it often un-enjoyable. It's just not fair and people are sick of hearing of the poor deprived backgrounds that these people have that mean the rest of us should let them have the run of the place and never ever see them punished for their actions because of the poor deprived childhood. People are just fed up having to play dodge the junkie in their own city.

By all means, initiate huge treatment programmes and have schemes to actually occupy them during the day when they're on the treatment, give them a good dinner. Spend the money if it solves the problem. I don't think anyone would have any problem with serious investment in tackling the heroin problem in Dublin. But for heaven's sake there needs to be a serious clampdown on the amount of anti-social behaviour that goes on.

Evan DietrichSmith

P.Walnuts wrote: »

I'm perfectly happy spending my time in the city centre, you know shopping , meeting friends, going for dinner and a few pints. Feel sorry for people who are scared of their own shadow and base their lives around what they read in the Evening Hearld, or it seems to be what they read on boards.

I'm not denying their is anti social behaviour in town, but I can;t see how it impairs people's daily activities in town....oh look there is a group of junkies, they sure did bother me there to look at them for the 2 seconds it took to walk past them :rolleyes:

Anti social behaviour should be tackled walnuts.

Sure it didn't ,perhaps, bother you , but it sure as heck bothers other people.

Take the boardwalk for example, a facility paid for by the citizens to enjoy a stroll ,a coffee, a sit down.

Taken over almost by an anti social group who deny the ordinary punter their enjoyment.

If you are happy with that set up, hey ok , but to me that's a situation that can only lead to big trouble down the tracks.

The laws of behaviour should apply to EVERYONE and a few disruptive people shouldn't surely influence the the enjoyment of the vast majority.

hotbabe1992

I agree the boardwalk is just one of many examples of how things are going wrong in this city.

strandroad

miss no stars wrote: »

You're missing the point entirely. Walking down Henry/Mary Street, Jervis Centre, Grafton Street. They're fine. Shopping areas aren't a problem. But for many people there's a very real problem getting to and from their bus. Marlborough Street, for example, I heard is nicknamed "Murder Mile" by the bus drivers and it only takes a cursory glance down it to know why. Getting a bus from Middle Abbey Street or Eden Quay? Guaranteed to pass gangs of junkies on the way there. If they're high - great. If they're not they can be very intimidating. They DO rob people. They DO assault them. They ARE intimidating.

People are just sick of being intimidated while going about perfectly legitimate business in the city centre. So say I'm walking around to the bus on Middle Abbey Street where the footpath is narrow with shopping bags and handbag and a gang of junkies is on the footpath shouting and roaring at each other. Or there's a drug deal going on (very common in that spot) and some lowlife starts with the "wha da fuuuck aaaare ewe lookin ah?". It's not a nice scenario to find yourself in. It just isn't okay and it actually is preventable.

It's not that people here are living in a heightened sense of paranoia and fear the whole time, people are just sick of having to deal with the absolute dregs of the bottom feeders of sub-society. People are sick of hearing of innocent people being attacked and robbed them. Of having to fear for your own health and safety just to get to your bus. The city centre is there for the enjoyment of the people in the city. 50-100 junkies are currently making it often un-enjoyable. It's just not fair and people are sick of hearing of the poor deprived backgrounds that these people have that mean the rest of us should let them have the run of the place and never ever see them punished for their actions because of the poor deprived childhood. People are just fed up having to play dodge the junkie in their own city.

By all means, initiate huge treatment programmes and have schemes to actually occupy them during the day when they're on the treatment, give them a good dinner. Spend the money if it solves the problem. I don't think anyone would have any problem with serious investment in tackling the heroin problem in Dublin. But for heaven's sake there needs to be a serious clampdown on the amount of anti-social behaviour that goes on.

Precisely. I think people conflate addiciton and antisocial behaviour here. There are quiet addicts who are no trouble and don't hassle people, you can just drop something into their coffee cup if you want to. Others are a nuisance and a threat. Plus there are large numbers of non-junkie antisocial individuals roaming this area too.
It's not about removing the addicts, it's about clamping on antisocial behaviour and petty crime, whoever is involved in it.
But the problem is real.

Wilfork

dd972 wrote: »

Was walking past Wynn's Hotel the other day and there was a full scale barney going on among the usual nasal voiced pyjama and Nike clad suspects, one of whom was down an alley with his joggers and keks down scratching his family allowance in broad daylight :eek:

No Guards in sight as usual, and to think thousands of tourists from Europe and beyond flock to this kip and usually disembark the Airport bus in this vicinity.

Would it be a better idea if the Methadone clinics were located in Industrial estates in a radius around the M50 and the one on Amiens St for instance was down by the Port? Coupled with a 'what the f**k are you doing here?' crackdown by the Garda.

What does this mean? Shooting up?

Birneybau

Tried to leave work a few minutes ago, along Abbey Street, and there was a gang of young fellas drinking cans right outside and one of them was actually p!ssing against the door I was about to leave through. This was 5:30 in the fcuking evening, city packed with Christmas shoppers, some of whom were visibly scared.

I just can't fathom what goes through the minds of the bleeding hearts, what do they not see that we do!

hotbabe1992

My brother was up in dublin himself about 3 weeks ago meeting an old college friend,he said some guy came up to him asking him if he needed any gear?

In fairness he was visibly seen hanging about which i warned him not to do around dublin,but he was waiting for his friend so they could meet up and have a drink and he would stay the night at his.

A cousin of mine was robbed up there recently and she doesnt really bitch about dublin or anything like that,but even she admitted its getting bad.

P.Walnuts

hotbabe1992 wrote: »

My brother was up in dublin himself about 3 weeks ago meeting an old college friend,he said some guy came up to him asking him if he needed any gear?

In fairness he was visibly seen hanging about which i warned him not to do around dublin,but he was waiting for his friend so they could meet up and have a drink and he would stay the night at his.

A cousin of mine was robbed up there recently and she doesnt really bitch about dublin or anything like that,but even she admitted its getting bad.

I honestly think you are making things up at this stage.

So you told us about hearing about people getting followed off of buses by pickpockets before you told us about you brother being offered drugs and your cousin being mugged?

Riiiiight

hotbabe1992

Im a regular commuter to dublin,whats so strange about that?

My brother does have an old college friend working up in dublin,also nothing strange wacky and wonderful about that?

My cousin did get robbed,it can happen anywhere yes,but dublin is getting worse from my regular visits there it has since late 2000's gotten progressively worse i would say since 10 and after its really gone to sh*t.

Not just my view as an outsider its the view of a lot of dublin people too.

P.Walnuts

hotbabe1992 wrote: »

Im a regular commuter to dublin,whats so strange about that?

My brother does have an old college friend working up in dublin,also nothing strange wacky and wonderful about that?

My cousin did get robbed,it can happen anywhere yes,but dublin is getting worse from my regular visits there it has since late 2000's gotten progressively worse i would say since 10 and after its really gone to sh*t.

Not just my view as an outsider its the view of a lot of dublin people too.

I find it very strange that you would post initially about hearing rumours of pickpockets following people off buses, and then a couple of days later post oh ye by the way my brother and cousin were offered drugs/mugged

Would that not seem odd no? Surely your brother and cousin would be the first thing you post about?

Wilfork

I'd be willing to bet a lot of the people commenting that they basically want drug addicts dragged off to camps for processing are snorting coke and popping pills in clubs at the weekend. Heroine addicts are not dirt to be scraped off your shoes you know

hotbabe1992

I find it very strange that you would post initially about hearing rumours of pickpockets following people off buses, and then a couple of days later post oh ye by the way my brother and cousin were offered drugs/mugged

Would that not seem odd no? Surely your brother and cousin would be the first thing you post about?

What order i post things in doesnt make me a liar if that is what you are insinuating...

I did mention my cousin got robbed,my brother didnt he was just asked if he wanted any gear,he still felt threatened though,eventhough he was all bravado and didnt admit to feeling threatened.

I didnt hear rumours about pickpockets my mother warned me about them watching people getting off buses from the countryside because she was up to dublin about every 2 months to vist a psychiatrist in st pats..

I actually seen what looked like a junkie watching me and other people get off the bus,seeming i was on my own i pretended to be with a crowd by sticking close to them until i knew i was out of sight.

When i got back to the bus at westmoreland st,i saw that same man with a cup in his hand now trying a new trick begging,then he got in the luggage dept to try to steal a few bags,thankfully he was caught by the busdriver,and when the busdriver said he would ring the gards he said sure ring them call the gards etc.

When we were just boarding the bus he was shaking a cup when we were on the bus he was in the luggage department.


Thats what happened you dont have to believe me i dont need your validation.

Straight Talker

Birneybau wrote: »

Tried to leave work a few minutes ago, along Abbey Street, and there was a gang of young fellas drinking cans right outside and one of them was actually p!ssing against the door I was about to leave through. This was 5:30 in the fcuking evening, city packed with Christmas shoppers, some of whom were visibly scared.

I just can't fathom what goes through the minds of the bleeding hearts, what do they not see that we do!

A safe city centre and a city centre where people feel safe in is a right not an entitlement.That would be my answer to those do gooders.Of course wasn't someone stabbed on that street yesterday evening in full of view of families doing their christmas shopping.

Straight Talker

P.Walnuts wrote: »

I find it very strange that you would post initially about hearing rumours of pickpockets following people off buses, and then a couple of days later post oh ye by the way my brother and cousin were offered drugs/mugged

Would that not seem odd no? Surely your brother and cousin would be the first thing you post about?

When you are losing the argument then question the integrity of the poster with the opposite opinion in a desperate attempt to regain lost ground!:D