This article is from page 14 of the 2008-08-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
THE number of cases prosecuted in the Circuit Court in Ennis in 2006 fell significantly, according to figures released by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Twenty-eight cases were dealt with in 2006, which is a decrease on 41 in 2005. It is a further drop on the figure of 49 in 2004.
2006 recorded a remarkably low rate of convictions by juries in the county – just two juries decided to
convict. This was a huge drop on 12 convictions in 2005, while there was just one conviction recorded in 2004.
Of the cases that went to trial in 2006, three defendants were ac- quitted by juries. The figure was four in 2005 and two in 2004.
The high rate of guilty pleas en- tered in the Circuit Court in Ennis continued in 2006, with 23 defend- ants entering pleas. This was on a par with the figure for the previous year – 24 – and a significant drop of
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The figures contained in the DPP’s annual report show that 89 per cent of cases finalised in 2006 resulted in convictions. The figure was 88 percent in 2005 and 86 per cent the previous year. This high figure took into account the high rate of guilty pleas entered, prior Komnur-e
Meanwhile, 44 complaints were made against gardai in the Clare Division in 2006, which was a sig- nificant rise on the figure for 2005,
when 31 complaints were made. Previously the highest figure was 43, in 2003.
That’s according to the Garda Complaints Board annual report, which was published last week. It also showed that up to May 8, 2007, seven complaints were made against gardai in Clare.
The complaints board ceased to accept new complaints on that date. The Garda Ombudsman Commis- sion took over that role, when it was Set up.