I was bad news to the Gardai
As the hype around 'anti-social behaviour' increases, SpunOut.ie features the voice of an ex-offender trying to stay out of trouble.
When I was fifteen I had a lot of difficult personal stuff going on and I kind of went off the rails for a while. My first offence was breaking into a house and stealing a gun. From then on it was driving offences, more stealing and a lot of other stupid things. Finally I was summoned to appear in court and it was then I realized that if I didn't stop, I would end up doing serious time in a jail somewhere.
I decided I needed to grow up a bit and stay out of trouble. Sadly, it wasn't that easy as some of the Gardai had it in their heads that because I was in trouble before, I couldn't possibly have changed. They would stop and search me while I was walking down the street, they would take me to the station and question me about things that happened when I wasn't even in the area. This still goes on to some degree.
They went to people they saw me with and warned them away from me by saying I was “bad news”. If I tried to say that I had changed, people would just not believe me. I did not see the point in making formal complaints against the Guards that I felt were harassing me, after all it was my word against the Gardai – Who would you believe?
Some members of the Gardai did try to help keep me out of trouble. One Garda even got me a Junior Liaison Officer and after more offences, got me put on probation. I do feel this really helped and if all the rest of the Gardai had been as supportive I would have stayed out of trouble for good. Even so, I am responsible for my own actions and should have had the sense to stay out of trouble.
In fairness, I'm not saying I was ever an angel and I know I may never be a model citizen but I think the Guards would have been better off helping me keep out of trouble rather than accusing me of things I didn't do. By doing this they are almost encouraging you to commit crimes so that when they do come looking for me, I will know they actually do have a reason!
I'm doing my best to get educated, take an interest in the community and stay away from trouble. All I'm looking for is a chance!
Dominic
Find out about your rights!
This article is part of the SpunOut.ie true life stories section – a space for young people to share their experiences of tough times and encourage others to seek help. This story is just one person's experience and it may be different for you. Remember that no matter what you are going through, there is help and support available. See the Find help section for more information: http://www.spunout.ie/help/
Your Comments
Posted by : glitz90 - 31 days ago
Login to leave a comment on this article
Login | Sign Up