Some members of the Travelling community believe they are over-policed and under-protected by the gardaí, according to a new report.
The report, which examines the relationship between gardaí and the Travelling community, reveals that Travellers also feel they receive a poor quality of policing compared with more "respectable" communities.
On the other hand, the report says gardaí believe members of the Travelling community are "inherently untrustworthy" and difficult to police.
The report, Policing and Social Marginalisation in Ireland, compiled for the Combat Poverty Agency by Aogán Mulcahy from the Sociology Department of UCD and researcher Eoin O'Mahony, also looks at Garda-community relations in two marginalised communities in Dublin, St Teresa's Gardens and Darndale/Belcamp.
People interviewed for the study expressed concerns about a "disproportionate" Garda response to incidents involving Travellers, particularly when it involved a dispute between Travellers and settled people.
Forty interviews and 10 focus groups were conducted with members of the Travelling community and people from the two marginalised areas in the course of research.
Forty serving and retired gardaí were also interviewed, many of whom had considerable experience of police-community relations work.
Ten further interviews were conducted with public figures, including political representatives and members of key statutory and non-statutory bodies.
Travellers interviewed said until the issue of Traveller accommodation is resolved, considerable scope for conflict between the gardaí and Travellers will remain.
Gardaí interviewed said Travellers are a difficult community to police, due to their mobility and the propensity to violence which they said exists within the Travelling community.
However, gardaí interviewed said they recognised the poor relations which existed between Travellers and the force. But they believed the general situation is improving, with individual officers now more sympathetic towards Travellers.
The report also found that relations between Travellers and the gardaí are shaped by a historical legacy of conflict and profound distrust.
Garda involvement in community activities was often viewed as less than wholehearted.