Letters

Garda management and public order

A question of confidence

Fri Dec 01 2023 - 00:14

Sir, – The Minister for Justice has referred to the Policing Authority to seek clarity on the use of force for gardaí (News, November 28th). This raises two profound issues for the public and Garda management.

Based on the Minister’s referral, it seems at least some gardaí currently policing our streets are uncertain on how to deploy a graduated force response and the law underpinning it. Second, it would appear the teaching approaches to informing recruits in the Garda College on this topic are ineffective in conveying the essential crystal-clear knowledge to all officers on this crucial policing function. Does the request by the Minister, the person who has overall responsibility for law and order in the State, for clarity from the Policing Authority amount to a damning indictment of Garda training? What’s going on? – Is mise,

MICHAEL CALLAN,

(Retired garda),

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Dundalk,

Co Louth.

Sir, – The appearance before the Oireachtas justice committee by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and the announced plan for the purchase of new equipment for An Garda Síochána highlights how ill equipped the force currently is.

Basic equipment such as riot shields, pepper spray, more robust public order vehicles and Tasers, equipment that most European police forces have access to in sufficient quantities, raises questions about how poorly resourced An Garda Síochána is.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told us only a few months ago that the streets of Dublin were safe. Recent events and the announced procurement of new equipment suggests they are not. Am I confident that the Minister can deliver what’s required? No, I’m not. – Yours, etc,

CONOR HOGARTY,

Blackrock,

Co Dublin.

Sir, – Can we hope that one result of the horrendous scenes we saw last week in Dublin is that the Government would now take seriously a national security strategy? The establishment of an independent, civilian led, properly resourced national security and intelligence service must be a priority. – Yours, etc,

KEVIN KENNY,

Baltinglass,

Co Wicklow.

Sir, – I listened to the Garda Commissioner and the Minister of Justice and I have never heard such drivel.

I volunteer for a soup kitchen and each Tuesday we pull a trolley of hot meals and tea and coffee around the main streets of Dublin. We start in Pearse Street, around Trinity, up Grafton Street, down Dawson Street, on to O’Connell Bridge and up O’Connell Street to the GPO. Despite the promise by the politicians and the Garda leadership of a promised presence on the streets, there was not one garda walking the streets on Tuesday (five days after the riot) on the route I outlined above. O’Connell Street is where the riots took place and yet no gardaí were there between 7pm to 9pm on Tuesday. I was there.

There were, however, 10 gardaí in blue riot uniforms standing at the top of Grafton Street by St Stephen’s Green on the same night and two vehicles in support, but what use were they positioned in the safest part of the city?

However, on Wednesday there were plenty of gardaí on Grafton Street during the day, which smacks of a PR exercise. They must take us for fools.

Is it not about time that the politicians, including the Opposition, and the Garda Commissioner came out of their ivory towers and started walking the streets themselves to see what is happening? They would not only see the lack of Garda presence but also the amount of people who are homeless. – Yours, etc,

DONAL KILALEA,

Howth,

Dublin 13.

Sir, – Why are some politicians always vehemently critical and negative in their pronouncements? Their never-ending harping does little for public morale and positive citizenship and is possibly an element in incitement to disrespect and disorder.

The leadership we need is through positive idealism rather than hostile, populist negativity. – Yours, etc,

MARTIN KRASA,

Cork.

A chara, – Brian Dineen LLM argues that there is clarity on the use of force by gardaí (Letters, November 29th). He tells us there is already a policy in place on the issue and quotes the relevant passage: “Any Garda response/action to resolve a public order incident must be lawful, proportionate, necessary and must be ‘reasonable in the circumstances’, as a member of An Garda Síochána believes it to be.”

This is fine in theory but as a person with legal qualifications himself Mr Dineen will be well aware that what is “proportionate, necessary and . . . reasonable” can be down to interpretation. Gardaí too will be well aware of this and will also be conscious that their interpretation could ultimately be a matter for the courts, where they will find no scarcity of legal practitioners to argue the toss with them.

There are almost 12,000 practising solicitors and approximately 2,300 practicing barristers in the country. This gives us a total of over 14,000 practising law professionals at a time when the total number of gardaí has fallen below 14,000. In the litigious times we live in, it is hardly surprising if some gardaí conclude that the safest thing to do is to err on the side of caution. – Is mise,

JOHN GLENNON,

Hollywood,

Co Wicklow.