A new official survey has revealed widespread public anxiety relating to current levels of crime and public disorder, with 85 per cent of those polled either "very" or "fairly" concerned about the issue.
The poll also revealed strong support for the Garda reserve initiative. But there were mixed responses to questions relating to the level and standard of policing in communities.
The survey on crime and law enforcement found that 75 per cent of older people and of women aged over 55 years said they were "very concerned" at crime and public disorder levels.
Just 5 per cent of those surveyed believed crime had fallen in the last 10 years, with 66 per cent believing it had increased and 25 per cent saying crime levels remained the same.
People were most worried about drug crime, with 89 per cent viewing it as a "very serious" or "fairly serious" problem.
This was followed by juvenile crime (84 per cent), violent crime (82 per cent), burglary (81 per cent) and disorderly conduct in public (79 per cent).
The responses were consistent across all ages and social classes.
The poll was commissioned by the Department of Justice and conducted by TNS mrbi in the last fortnight. A total of 1,090 people aged over 15 years were polled by telephone.
The main findings in this area were as follows:
- 73 per cent either "strongly support" or "tend to support" a "trained" and "properly vetted" Garda reserve force run to international best practice.
- 47 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that the reserve force would bring gardaí closer to the community, with 30 per cent slightly or strongly disagreeing.
- 81 per cent "strongly support" or "tend to support" a greater role for civilians in the force if it results in more gardaí on the beat. Seventy- six per cent believed there are too few uniformed gardaí on patrol.
- 56 per cent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that they are "generally more afraid of being attacked these days compared to four or five years ago" while 31 per cent strongly or slightly disagreed.
- 66 per cent of those surveyed believed gardaí had adequate local knowledge, 27 per cent said gardaí did not have adequate knowledge and 7 per cent did not know.
Although most people supported the concept of a Garda reserve, the majority were opposed to reservists playing a full role in policing and believed their responsibilities should be strictly limited.
The lowest levels of support for reservists' involvement in policing related to conducting warrant searches on the Garda's centralised computer system and in arresting suspects. However, levels of support still remained relatively high in these areas.
Forty-seven per cent strongly agreed or agreed that reservists should be allowed to carry out warrant searches on the Garda computer. Fifty-two per cent agreed or strongly agreed that reservists should have the power to arrest suspected criminals.
Sixty-nine per cent of those surveyed either strongly agreed or agreed that reservists should carry out station duties.
