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News Of The World Opinion Piece: Sunday 19th February
Dermot O'Donnell, GRA President
Irish policing
stands at a crossroads. An Garda Síochána, which has proudly served this state for almost eighty years, finds itself in a situation where it must decide upon its own future and the future of law
enforcement in this country. As I write Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is in the process of planning how he should spend twelve million euro on a Garda Reserve force which, if implemented,
will spell disaster for policing in Ireland. Also as I write, dedicated full-time Gardaí are reduced to buying batteries for their own torches and making work related calls on their own mobile
phones, such is the decrepit nature of the force's radio system and funding for the
force in general. It is the view of the Garda Representative Association, and other Garda associations, that
this Minister presides over a Garda force in crisis. Well trained and dedicated to their jobs our Gardaí are hampered by having too few members, a dysfunctional radio system, no adequate patrol cars
and stations the length and breadth of the country which are unfit for human habitation. Instead of confronting these serious problems which are preventing our members from operating to full
capacity, the Minister has turned his back on the serious funding needed by ignoring the front-line and turning to the sidelines with this ludicrous Reserve proposal.
So what would a Garda
Reserve mean for Irish society? We would be placing ourselves in the awful situation of having virtually untrained police officers being able to effect the arrest of another citizen. We would
effectively be creating a society where neighbour can police neighbour. This
will give rise to a distrustful and wary society in which people will be reluctant to engage with state agencies in
crime prevention. Potential reservists and their families will become targets of abuse, intimidation and violence in their own communities. Essentially, this proposal is a degradation of the
institution which is an Garda Siochana and the relationship which it has had with the Irish people through some of their darkest hours. We now appeal to them to support us in our campaign to give
them the Garda force they deserve and not this farce which Michael McDowell has conjured up. This shambolic proposal will negate much of the good relationship which communities have forged with their
local Gardai in the shape of neighbourhood watch, community alert and business alert schemes. As regards operational effectiveness in terms of fighting crime, this proposed Reserve will make little
or no difference. The current proposals indicate that they will only work approximately four hours a week, hence lacking any credibility whatsoever.
The Minister has consistently failed to
acknowledge the crippling problems which currently face the force. Even the independent group charged with overseeing the implementation of the Garda Act warned recently that the Department of
Justice should withdraw from the financing of the force completely as even they have witnessed the way in which the force has been mismanaged by Department officials. We are witnessing a brain drain
of epic proportions as experienced officers become disillusioned with the unrealistic demands of an out of touch management structure. Now, to add to this already top heavy bureaucratic structure
full-time Gardaí will have their precious time further wasted by policing the pseudo-police. Recently, a spokesperson for the London Metropolitan Police said the much of their officers time was now
spent rectifying the mistakes of their reservists, known as special constables. The Irish people deserve better then being catapulted into a situation where their already over stretched Gardaí are
forced to spend even more time on duties which takes them away from front line policing. Full time Gardaí, employed in fighting crime and crime prevention is what the Irish public need and deserve.
What we need are the resources, both in terms of manpower and equipment, to ensure we can carry these duties out in an effective manner. The Garda Representative Association has consistently
highlighted these major problems to management and the Department of Justice and consistently our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. This proposed Garda Reserve is the latest farce in this litany of
neglect and mismanagement. The GRA will not abandon its members, or the Irish public, to a part time police force which will represent nothing but a seriously retrograde step for law enforcement in
this country. We cannot accept it and we will not accept it. We implore Minister McDowell to reconsider this proposal and withdraw it in the interests of the law enforcement needs of the Irish people
and the future of an Garda Síochána.
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