Ned Hogan chairman of Treo previously served 15 years as a Garda Juvenile Liaison Officer in Waterford.
Juvenile Liaison Officers work within the Garda Youth Diversion Programme, which seeks to prevent young offenders and children involved in anti-social behaviour from falling deeper into the justice system and criminality.
While the age of criminal responsibility is 12 in Ireland, the Diversion Programme can involve children as young as 10. The diversion programme is administered by Juvenile Liaison Officers, who are specially trained Gardaí. Every Garda Division in the country has JLOs who monitor and keep in contact with young people at risk of progressing into criminality.
Speaking to The Munster Express, Ned Hogan, who served as JLO for Waterford from 1995 to 2010 outlined what her learned from his experience.
“Contrary to what people say, 90% of young people are excellent. They’ll be running the country in a few years,” he said.
“But it’s like any group of people, whether its adults or teachers or the Gardaí, 90% are excellent, but it is the other 10% that can give the 90% a bad name. That’s how it is with any group.”
Ned explained that there were two JLOs for Waterford during his time, giving them a huge area to cover meaning they were always busy. Figures read into the Dáil state that Waterford had 4 JLOs working in 2024.
Ned explained that his role as a JLO involved him going as a plain clothes Garda into the homes of young people who may have committed an offence.
“For a first caution I’d go into the home and I’d connect with the family. Most of the offences came from young men, about 80% to 20% from young women.”
“A first caution might be underage drinking, causing havoc, public offences, that kind of thing. Particularly for young men. For young women it’s more likely to be shoplifting or something like that.
“And I’d have to say, a lot of parents would say oh thank God their children were drinking and not smoking dope. But from my perspective drinking is nearly worse. Most people really underestimate the effects drinking can have on a 13 or 14 year old.”
When asked how these home visits tend to go, Ned emphasised that they were not as confrontational as you may think.
“Most of the time when you go into the family home they are relieved you are there, especially in what might be called disadvantaged areas, because they want you to help their child.
“But for a first caution a lot of it would depend on parental advice and control. In my time we would say that 85% of young people would never reoffend again after the first caution.”
Ned explained that at this stage that the JLO may try and intervene to divert the young person towards a service in the area, like Youth Reach or Treo, if they felt the young person was in danger of re-offending.
“For a second offence, a young person could be given a formal caution. That’s done in the Garda station, maybe in a quiet room. After that then they are placed under the JLO’s supervision for 12 months.”
“The JLO will continue to monitor the young person and they might call out to the house once or twice during the supervision period.”
“After the second caution, we would think another 5% will never offend again.”
Ned commented that many of the young people he worked with still receive him positively.
“I’ve met quite a few now that would come up to me and say, only for you I wouldn’t be where I am today. Now you do get the other ones too who remember you and give out.
“But I’ve been out to the roughest areas of the county and city and I have to say the vast majority of people could not be more accommodating.”
The 10%
Following JLO intervention, and placement on the Garda Diversion Programme, Ned’s estimates that 10% of young people continue to offend. This would be the 10% that gives the other 90% a bad name, according to Ned’s telling. The JLO’s involvement ends once this 10% progresses to court or when a young person is involved in a more serious offence, like a serious assault or any sexual offence.
He went on to discuss the issues that might make a young person more vulnerable to reoffending and the importance of providing young people with accurate and honest information.
“Well one thing that might make it more difficult is things like addictions in the house, but it doesn’t always happen that way either, sometimes you wouldn’t see anything like that in someone’s home life and they go on to offend.”
“Overall friends would tend to be the biggest problem for young people in terms of them getting into trouble.”
Friends can also act as sources of information, explained Ned, which puts the onus on parents to build that trust with their teenage children.
“What happens is parents might not be well up on the effects of drugs, so they tell young people if you take any drugs, tablets, smoking dope, you will drop dead. And of course that doesn’t happen.”
“What happens then is the young people have some friends who are taking tablets and seem to be having a great time. In that case, the young people can stop trusting parents as a source of information. They start picking up information on the street, from their friends, and from the internet instead.
“I believe it is incumbent on all of us to learn about the effects of drugs and to be realistic in our information.”
Ned explained that effective communication around drugs meant not scaremongering but actually laying out the legal and health consequences these substances can cause.
“The information you give has to be correct and accurate. Nowadays young people can be better informed than the adults around them.
“So when we go into schools, speaking for a half an hour is a waste of time. We need 2-3 sessions to look at all aspects, like the effects on the community, the family, health, and legal aspects.
“We also explain that a conviction means a lot of jobs are off limits and you won’t get a visa to get into certain countries.”
After 15 years as a JLO, Ned sympathises with parents who may be struggling to keep their children on the right path in the modern world.
“There’s a course for everything today, you get a course for driving, you can even get a pre-marriage course, but when a child is born there is no course, it’s all just trial and error.”
“I always say there is no such thing as a bad parent really, but sometimes they get it wrong.”
Treo Port Lairge
After 15 years as a JLO, Ned went on to be the Chairman of Treo Port Lairge, based in the Lacken Road Business Park.
“We saw a gap in the services in Waterford. There were no services catering for people aged 16 and over, so that’s where Treo comes in. It began as a group of likeminded people interested in youth work.”
Treo’s goal is to reduce criminal activity in young people, making Waterford a safer and happier place to live. They often work with young people who may have gotten on the wrong side of the law or school system and try to divert them towards a more fulfilling life.
This work can take many forms but Treo offers supports including behavioural and emotional guidance, independent living support, crime awareness, counselling, music lessons, car & motorbike maintenance programmes, relaxation and wellbeing, outdoor activities, prison visits, and reintegration support after release.
As reported in the Munster Express, Treo Port Lairge recently received €70,000 of funding for their motorbike workshop, run by Irish Champion motorbike racer Hilton Hincks. Treo also includes a computer room, showers, and a fully functioning kitchen with washing machines to help service users develop life skills they may not have.
Ned explained that many of the Treo service users now come as a self-referrals as young people seek help to get their lives moving in the right direction.
“Every generation of young people brings different challenges. What we see a lot now is that young people are experimenting with things at younger ages. That’s another reason why accurate information is so important.”
“But 90% of young people really are excellent.”
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
