The Guardian Angels of Irish Cities

BazPM

I know it's a popular topic on boards.ie at the moment but I am becoming concerned about just how bad Dublin is getting. I'm seeing a lot of violence, intimidation and lawlessness and it's becoming extraordinarily common. I know in New York in the 90s there was a group called the guardian angels who would travel in big groups around the city to make citizens arrests and I'm just wondering if people think it's a feesible idea for here? I know it's dangerous but at the same time I can't sit back and continue to watch what is becoming of Dublin

oppenheimer1

You make Dublin sound like a war zone, it's most definitely not. It's just like any other city in western Europe and it does have problems, but calling for vigilantes is just plain stupid.

Indeed Dublin would be really easy to clean up if the methadone clinics were moved out of the city centre. No need for vigilantes just a policy everyone can agree to

Zed Bank

Nah, I think I'll dress up in tights and go around fighting crime.

harney

If they start in Movember they could all look like Charles Bronson.

Canis Lupus

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

You make Dublin sound like a war zone, it's most definitely not. It's just like any other city in western Europe and it does have problems, but calling for vigilantes is just plain stupid.

Indeed Dublin would be really easy to clean up if the methadone clinics were moved out of the city centre. No need for vigilantes just a policy everyone can agree to

Could you imagine... Junkies asking for a euro for the bus would skyrocket.

tigger123

I've been living and working in the City Centre for the last 10 years, and Dublin's grand. Gardaí have enough to be doing without dealing with vigilantes as well as everything else.

Who'd do this OP?

c_man

Yeah, great idea. The nerds of AH donning red berets and getting their collective heads kicked in by the scummers :pac:

artanevilla

All right, I'll be Cue Ball. Barney can be Eight Ball, Lenny will be Twelve Ball, and Moe, you'll be Cue Ball.

Balmed Out

No Irish city is any where near as bad as we like to make them out to be

zl1whqvjs75cdy

I definitely think Dublin is getting worse. If you were to walk down main street Berlin or Paris or London or other major European cities you wouldn't see scores of junkies passed out and fighting as I witnessed today on the way home.

darkpagandeath

Balmed Out wrote: »

No Irish city is any where near as bad as we like to make them out to be

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/capitals-murder-rate-one-of-the-highest-in-europe-26548631.html

The rate is going back up again too.

WoollyRedHat

I've got a cape in my wardrobe somewhere, granted it's a Harry Potter one, but with a bit of face paint I can look well scary.

We need to pick a soundtrack to, so they know us band of merryman are coming and put the fear into their hearts. I vote we call ourselves the Warriors.

The Warriors of Dublin

newmug

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

I've got a cape in my wardrobe somewhere, granted it's a Harry Potter one, but with a bit of face paint I can look well scary.

We need to pick a soundtrack to, so they know us band of merryman are coming and put the fear into their hearts. I vote we call ourselves the Warriors.

The Warriors of Dublin

The keyBOARD warriors!! See that? See what I did? Double nerd-hood. How can we NOT do this?

stimpson

Balmed Out wrote: »

No Irish city is any where near as bad as we like to make them out to be

What about Limerick?

Balmed Out

stimpson wrote: »

What about Limerick?

Limerick is fine. Have you spent any time there? Id feel safer in Dublin then most Scottish or English cities and most of the mainland European cities Ive been to.

Red Pepper

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

You make Dublin sound like a war zone, it's most definitely not. It's just like any other city in western Europe and it does have problems, but calling for vigilantes is just plain stupid.

Ah will you stop, the point is that Dublin could be a lot better. There is no valid reason why it is being let become such a dangerous/dirty place. It has absolutely lost its charm in the last decade or so. In my opinion, there aren't many Irish people outside Dublin that want to visit Dublin unless there is a match or concert on. I imagine that most Dubliners do not visit O'Connell Street or its surrounds too often either. It's a sad reflection on our capital.

But hey we can always accept the mediocre in this country with a "shure its not as bad as most western cities...blah blah"

Davarus Walrus

Shít yo getin serious down here in muthafúckin Monkstown. Crack ho's be selling booty on da corner while pipe-wielding thugs be holdin shít up.

BetterThanThou

I think Dublin is grand, the junkies are all harmless, sure, it's not the prettiest sight to see so many junkies. But I've never once felt threatened by them.

Kermit.de.frog

I agree a big part of Dublin's problem is the methadone clinics in such close proximity on the northside and the delinquent planners decision to provide a free taxi service to them in the form of the Luas through the most scum riddled parts of the city.


On that note what do the southsiders think of the social mixing experiment about to begin to connect the red with the green line?


The scum will now have unfettered access to the southside free of charge and the middle classes unfettered access to the northside having paid their fare.

It will be interesting to see the deleterous effects on the green line that will result from connection with the scum train.

darkpagandeath

Davarus Walrus wrote: »

Shít yo getin serious down here in muthafúckin Monkstown. Crack ho's be selling booty on da corner while pipe-wielding thugs be holdin shít up.

Do people forget the flats that used to be in monkstown and dun laoghaire being a port town has it's own problems, And with all the methadone clinics

strobe

Jesus a lot of people on boards must be soft little delicate flowers. I've never heard anything as ridiculous in my life as you do in these kinds of threads. Jittery, palpitating pansies recalling in horror the time they saw a fight one Friday night 8 years ago on o connel St, or the permanently soul shattering terror of a couple of incidents of petty street crime witnessed in a major capital city. Recounting their tales like paraplegic 'nam vets in a support group for PTSD sufferers. "They were everywhere maaan, in the trees maaan, Charlie junkies maaan. And then when I shipped home to Mayo, there was no parade... People don't understand what it was like maan. They weren't there the night Big John got pushed a couple of times by that slightly drunk sham in a tracksuit. How do you come home and explain these things to people? I guess you just gotta try and live one day at a time..."

Donkey Oaty

strobe wrote: »

I've never heard anything as ridiculous in my life as you do in these kinds of threads.

In which case it is YOU who is living the sheltered life, my friend.

strobe

Donkey Oaty wrote: »

In which case it is YOU who is living the sheltered life, my friend.

touché.

Donkey Oaty

strobe wrote: »

touché.

Spoke like a true Dub, bud.!:)

dj jarvis

OP , stop reading the daily mail , stop being scared.

anyway , you are more likely to get a beating off some middle class yahoo out on the beer on a Friday night than you are from a junkie,
and in fairness 99.99% of junkies would snap if you breath too heavy in their direction.

its probably NOWHERE near as dangerous as you think it is , i suggest you wander round south London at dusk , thats real danger INNIT !!!!

dj jarvis

Red Pepper wrote: »

Ah will you stop, the point is that Dublin could be a lot better. There is no valid reason why it is being let become such a dangerous/dirty place. It has absolutely lost its charm in the last decade or so. In my opinion, there aren't many Irish people outside Dublin that want to visit Dublin unless there is a match or concert on. I imagine that most Dubliners do not visit O'Connell Street or its surrounds too often either. It's a sad reflection on our capital.

But hey we can always accept the mediocre in this country with a "shure its not as bad as most western cities...blah blah"

but its not , it gotten safer in the last 10 years , less street crime ( other than the spike in the last 2 years becasue of Iphone snatching )

SOME PEOPLE JUST WANT TO BE SCARED !!!!

JOE - JOE - THE JUNKIES JOE !!!

Lapin

I used to get more pissed off with the Guardian Angels on the tube with their self righteous look of distain when I refused to give them a donation than I ever did with a 'story bud' Dublin junkie tapping me for a euro.

Red Pepper

dj jarvis wrote: »

but its not , it gotten safer in the last 10 years , less street crime ( other than the spike in the last 2 years becasue of Iphone snatching )

SOME PEOPLE JUST WANT TO BE SCARED !!!!

JOE - JOE - THE JUNKIES JOE !!!

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/capitals-murder-rate-one-of-the-highest-in-europe-26548631.html

In the space of a decade, Dublin has gone from having one of the lowest homicide rates of any European capital city to having possibly the highest, and certainly the highest for gang related murders.

orangesoda

i remember a few of my old school teachers used to sleg dublin all the time, saying it was heroin capital of europe and what not, 'bad auld hole or 'dear auld hole' were the usual phrases

darkpagandeath

Red Pepper wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/capitals-murder-rate-one-of-the-highest-in-europe-26548631.html

In the space of a decade, Dublin has gone from having one of the lowest homicide rates of any European capital city to having possibly the highest, and certainly the highest for gang related murders.

I linked that already...

DazMarz

artanevilla wrote: »

All right, I'll be Cue Ball. Barney can be Eight Ball, Lenny will be Twelve Ball, and Moe, you'll be Cue Ball.

"You're an idiot..." -Moe

Judgement Day

I had a sense of déjà vu about this thread and somewhere in my memory was this http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/1989/04/20/00015.asp from way, way back in 1989 when the 'Guardian Angels' were supposed to be setting up in Dublin. I'm not a big fan of vigilantes - not of the Charles Bronson variety anyway - I prefer Dirty Harry's approach myself.

darkpagandeath

Judgement Day wrote: »

I had a sense of déjà vu about this thread and somewhere in my memory was this http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/1989/04/20/00015.asp from way, way back in 1989 when the 'Guardian Angels' were supposed to be setting up in Dublin. I'm not a big fan of vigilantes - not of the Charles Bronson variety anyway - I prefer Dirty Harry's approach myself.

Or more Guardi like Sledge Hammer

Red Pepper

darkpagandeath wrote: »

I linked that already...

You wanna fight!?

steddyeddy

BazPM wrote: »

I know it's a popular topic on boards.ie at the moment but I am becoming concerned about just how bad Dublin is getting. I'm seeing a lot of violence, intimidation and lawlessness and it's becoming extraordinarily common. I know in New York in the 90s there was a group called the guardian angels who would travel in big groups around the city to make citizens arrests and I'm just wondering if people think it's a feesible idea for here? I know it's dangerous but at the same time I can't sit back and continue to watch what is becoming of Dublin

Compared to other European cities Dublin is relatively safe.

Red Pepper

Judgement Day wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of vigilantes - not of the Charles Bronson variety anyway - I prefer Dirty Harry's approach myself.

He was a cop.

Red Pepper

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Or more Guardi like Sledge Hammer

dj jarvis

Red Pepper wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/capitals-murder-rate-one-of-the-highest-in-europe-26548631.html

In the space of a decade, Dublin has gone from having one of the lowest homicide rates of any European capital city to having possibly the highest, and certainly the highest for gang related murders.

Murder ???

we are talking about street crime , not gangland killings
street crime is down - no one mentioned murder but you.

biko

A wall around the pale and a gate at M4.
Sorted.
The rest of us can live in peace.

The Diabolical Monocle

What would better help would be if the 'respectable class' drug users stopped putting kilos up their pointey noses and so stop funding the guys who are taking out the hits.


Shame on them.





snoooooooooorrrrrrrrt


bump ?

DildoFaggins

It's not like Somalia or Libya were locals are throwing stones at cars and hacking people to death in public but it's still a huge problem.

When I lived in Holland I often visited Belguim,Luxembourg and Denmark and it was never like this police force dealt with little scummers and addicts abruptly it was more the gangs that were a problem but it's not as bad as the 80s early 90s.

If you think about it Ireland for a first world country is way behind everyone else in terms of safety and tolerating with these idiots.

Bipolar Joe

dj jarvis wrote: »

but its not , it gotten safer in the last 10 years , less street crime ( other than the spike in the last 2 years becasue of Iphone snatching )

So, it's safe apart from when it's not safe? Jaysus, you're good. Are you a professional statistician, or is it more of a well-read hobbyist situation?

Archeron

Zed Bank wrote: »

Nah, I think I'll dress up in tights and go around fighting crime.

Yes....this is why I'm wearing tights....honestly... Fighting crime and stuff...

eamonnq

BazPM wrote: »

I know in New York in the 90s there was a group called the guardian angels who would travel in big groups around the city to make citizens arrests

I never seen their ass walking through South Central.

Eight Ball

artanevilla wrote: »

All right, I'll be Cue Ball. Barney can be Eight Ball, Lenny will be Twelve Ball, and Moe, you'll be Cue Ball.

Barney can feck off.

Pinch Flat

DildoFaggins wrote: »

When I lived in Holland I often visited Belguim,Luxembourg and Denmark and it was never like this police force dealt with little scummers and addicts abruptly it was more the gangs that were a problem but it's not as bad as the 80s early 90s.

Lived in Germany and to see the local polizei in action was pretty impressive. Fare evading on a tram? No problem there'll be a couple of police men armed with guns and dogs, boot open ready on the Audi to deal with you back at the station.

Other European countries, most if which are much more civil than our own on a day to day basis, with much lower levels of drunkeness, anti-social behaviour and general scumbagness than we have here have their own paramilitary police force that take absolutely no sh!t. I think we need to be going along these lines here - the legal system and the police system is broken and there's no will to stamp it out.

dj jarvis

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

So, it's safe apart from when it's not safe? Jaysus, you're good. Are you a professional statistician, or is it more of a well-read hobbyist situation?

dont be a smart arse , there are different types of crime , lower level street crime , of the kind the OP was talking about , and then there is murder , which another poster shoe horned into the debate .

the type of crime that the OP is shaking in his boots about is falling and has been for the last 10 years - but feel free to ignore the fact to try make some point or other :rolleyes:

RossFixxxed

What has bothered me is hearing the Gardaí putting two dealers in the back of their car saying "this is the second time I've arrested you today." What is the point in that? They do their job, haul them in and then they're out in a couple of hours. It's got to be demoralizing for the Gardaí, it seems pointless to all of us and these guys just don't care at all as there's no consequences.

It's not a dangerous hell hole like the OP has put it, but it definitely could do with a little reform. Currently there are plain clothes guys hauling them in off Abbey and O'Connell street in Dublin which is nice to see.

It is also waaay too easy to read the Daily Mail or some crap and then be terrified by absolutely everything!

I would love to see a bunch of us nerds go out on the street to take care of the problem. The first person who gets hauled out to the mountains and shot in the back of the head would put a swift end to the vigilantes I'd imagine.

"Are there any paranoids in the audience tonight? Is there anyone who worries about things? Pathetic. This is for all the weak people in the audience! Is there anyone here who's weak? This is for you, it's called Run Like Hell!"

SuperGrover

strobe wrote: »

Jittery, palpitating pansies...

Hahaha. Perfect.

end of the road

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Lived in Germany and to see the local polizei in action was pretty impressive. Fare evading on a tram? No problem there'll be a couple of police men armed with guns and dogs, boot open ready on the Audi to deal with you back at the station.

Other European countries, most if which are much more civil than our own on a day to day basis, with much lower levels of drunkeness, anti-social behaviour and general scumbagness than we have here have their own paramilitary police force that take absolutely no sh!t. I think we need to be going along these lines here - the legal system and the police system is broken and there's no will to stamp it out.

we don't need such nonsense, we can't afford it anyway we haven't and never will have the money and resources for it, higher sentencing and more ordinary guardai is all we need

zl1whqvjs75cdy

end of the road wrote: »

we don't need such nonsense, we can't afford it anyway we haven't and never will have the money and resources for it, higher sentencing and more ordinary guardai is all we need

If we can't afford such nonsense how are we going to afford to keep the scummer population in jail for longer periods of time. That ain't cheap.