{"id":2496,"date":"2016-02-17T11:29:16","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T11:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/?p=2496"},"modified":"2016-02-17T11:29:16","modified_gmt":"2016-02-17T11:29:16","slug":"grandparents-paying-out-for-grandchildrens-drug-debts-sean-crowe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/grandparents-paying-out-for-grandchildrens-drug-debts-sean-crowe\/","title":{"rendered":"Grandparents paying out for grandchildren\u2019s drug debts \u2013 Se\u00e1n Crowe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grandparents paying out for grandchildren\u2019s drug debts \u2013 Se\u00e1n Crowe<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking after the launch of the Citywide report on intimidation Sinn Fein\u2019s Se\u00e1n Crowe TD\u00a0described the report as timely and said that a policing service that delivered for communities was essential for building an inclusive society.<\/p>\n

Crowe, a\u00a0member of the Tallaght Drugs Task Force,\u00a0went on to describe the reports of mothers and fathers having to pay up for\u00a0a drug bill of their children as \u201cshocking for some,\u00a0uncomfortable but accurate\u201d and said he was aware of\u00a0even more extreme\u00a0cases where grandmothers and grandfathers were\u00a0being called to\u00a0over the grandchild\u2019s alleged drug debts.<\/p>\n

Deputy Se\u00e1n Crowe said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Citywide report on intimidation is timely and the information that some Drug dealers are pursuing parents for drug debts will come as a shock\u00a0for some,\u00a0uncomfortable but is an accurate account of what is happening in many communities right across Dublin<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it is becoming all too familiar in some areas, with debts of\u00a0thousands of euros being demanded off hard pressed families.<\/p>\n

\u201cVulnerable families are told in some cases pay up or see your loved shot dead or seriously injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe study revealed that two thirds of drug users who are intimidated or attacked by gangs do not report the incidents to the Garda\u00ed, but many have said to me that they are between a rock and a hard place and there is very little that the Garda Authorities can do to protect their home, property or more importantly loved one. The power lies with the criminals<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Garda\u00a0don\u2019t have the resources for round the clock surveillance but can and do offer advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Citywide report suggests that half of the attacks that they were aware of involved physical violence and family members of drug users being intimidated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0report claims that in one third of it cases, the mothers of drug users were targeted, and also in a third of cases damage was done to homes and property.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt went on to say that the excuse for the attacks was an alleged drug debt of between \u20ac500 and \u20ac5,000, but can be a lot higher.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my experience, the intimidation is not just confined to parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrandmothers and grandfathers have also been approached and forced to pay out under the very real threat of seeing their grandchild shot dead or seriously injured<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City Wide anti-drugs campaign also revealed that in many cases the debt did not go away even when it was supposed to have been paid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been made aware of a number of cases where after paying the so called debt another group of criminals call and say that they own the debt and the cycle of intimidation continues for the family involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome the Citywide report; it is timely and requires a societal and justice response.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt suggests targeting local criminals\u2019 money and an extension of the Criminal Assets Bureau to a localised Garda districts<\/p>\n

\u201cThis move would be wholeheartedly supported by anti-drug activists and would take the fight directly to the drug dealers and their finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would also urge anyone trapped\u00a0in this situation to contact the Garda Authorities and seek help. It is a confidential service\u00a0and no pressure will be put on the family that is seeking advice\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grandparents paying out for grandchildren\u2019s drug debts \u2013 Se\u00e1n Crowe   Speaking after the launch of the Citywide report on intimidation Sinn Fein\u2019s Se\u00e1n Crowe TD\u00a0described the report as timely and said that a policing service that delivered for communities was essential for building an inclusive society. Crowe, a\u00a0member of the Tallaght Drugs Task Force,\u00a0went […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2496"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2497,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2496\/revisions\/2497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}