A Councillor in Cork City has called for a ban on people wearing balaclavas, following complaints about anti-social behaviour in his area.
Labour Councillor Peter Horgan represents Cork City South East and noticed over the summer that the anti-social behaviour was often committed by young men wearing balaclavas.
On Newstalk Breakfast, he said playgrounds are being targeted and that Gardaí need new powers to tackle it.
“Swings being burnt, wheelie bins being dragged into the centre of parks and burnt in broad daylight,” he explained.
“I noticed that a lot of the people doing it were wearing balaclavas, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of the day.
“Committing criminal acts, anti-social behaviour and intimidatory behaviour, wearing balaclavas to shield your face for that reason only.
“I think there should be something put in place in our parks at the very least, to say in our bylaws, you're not allowed to wear them.”
Cllr Horgan has brought the issue up at Cork City Council, with a motion that targets all who conceal their faces.
“It's easier to call it the balaclava ban, but my motion actually refers to the idea of covering your face to shield it from identification,” he said.
“So, that kind of covers that side of things; if you're shielding your face for the way of committing criminal behaviour in our parks, I would consider the bylaw to cover that.”
Cllr Horgan added that while a ban on face coverings is not a “silver bullet”, it will be an important tool for Gardaí looking to cut crime.
“If a Guard walks into a park now and there's someone wearing a balaclava and they're not doing anything just yet, they don't have the power to say, ‘Well, remove the face covering there’,” he said.
“Whereas if they had this bylaw behind them, there's more of an element for them to go, ‘Sorry, can you remove the face covering there?’”
Cllr Horgan added that civil liberties will “have to be protected”, but noted this need is balanced with a need to police
“But if you have a gang of fellas - and broadly it's fellas that do these things - if a group of them are gathering in a park on a sunny day and they're all wearing balaclavas, common sense says that something is not right here,” he argued.
Main image: Men in balaclavas. Picture by: Alamy.com.
