Ordinary Decent Criminal is a term used by An Garda Siochana, the police force of the Republic of Ireland, to distinguish criminals engaging in illegal practices for financial or personal ends from those who have terrorist goals.
The term was originally used to distinguish "regular" criminals from the IRA and other paramilitary groups in Ireland.
In Ireland the term is sometimes used to refer to criminals who refuse to deal with the drugs trade.
Famous quotes containing the words ordinary, decent and/or criminal:
“As he watched from windows in the failing light
For his world that was always just out of sight
Where weakness was part of the ordinary landscape
And the friendly road knew his footstep, his footstep.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“A decent chap, a real good sort,
Straight as a die, one of the best,
A brick, a trump, a proper sport,
Head and shoulders above the rest;
How many lives would have been duller
Had he not been here below?
Here’s to the whitest man I know
Though white is not my favourite colour.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“A criminal trial is like a Russian novel: it starts with exasperating slowness as the characters are introduced to a jury, then there are complications in the form of minor witnesses, the protagonist finally appears and contradictions arise to produce drama, and finally as both jury and spectators grow weary and confused the pace quickens, reaching its climax in passionate final argument.”
—Clifford Irving (b. 1930)