Communities pay price for poor policing strategy
- FF & FG can’t be trusted on justice
Responding to plummeting Garda numbers in stations nationwide, Labour justice spokesperson Alan Kelly said until there’s a serious effort to bring training and retention into the modern age, communities will pay the price.
Deputy Kelly said:
“When it comes to an Garda Síochána this Government lack any sort of credibility. People across Ireland are telling us that they feel unsafe, and all the expert opinion is that community policing is the way to address this.
“Despite plenty of bluster when it comes to Garda recruitment and retention, almost a quarter of stations have fewer Gardaí, despite the small increase in overall numbers.
“Every community should know their local Garda and feel confident in their presence. This is the first step to restoring security and peace of mind for families across the country.
“Public safety is too important for empty promises and political spin. If this Government are recruiting as many new Gardaí as they promise, we need to see a detailed geographical breakdown of where they will be.
“In the Programme for Government, Fianna Fáil promise to increase the size of the force by 5,000 over the next five years. This is already a row back on the election commitment of between 5,000 to 6,000 new members as per Fianna Fáil’s manifesto.
“There’s no doubt about the need to increase community policing. Figures published by the CSO earlier this month showed that crime in our communities is rising. To date, there has been no proactive response from the Justice Minister.
“The saying is true—prevention is the best cure. It is clear that an increase in community policing is needed to tackle the rise in burglaries and related offences. Criminals are exploiting the lack of Garda presence, and ordinary people are paying the price.
“The Government have lowered fitness requirements, lowered educational requirements and trainees aren’t even being fully vetted, yet they still can’t get enough people to join the Gardaí.
“This trend will continue unless they are paid better, have improved pensions, are supported with proper equipment and know that the Minister, this Government and the Garda Commissioner has their backs.”