Garda Questions

SuperSean11

We can use this thread to post general questions.

SuperSean11

My question is are all gardai trained to drive a vehicle? e.g. Car Bike
or are there guards trained only for foot patrol?

quirkek2

SuperSean11 wrote: »

My question is are all gardai trained to drive a vehicle? e.g. Car Bike
or are there guards trained only for foot patrol?

Hi Supersean,

All Gardai are trained for 2 years in Templemore. Once a Garda has a full irish driving license and doesnt have any penalty points they can apply for permission from their local superintendent to drive the area squad car. They would not be allowed to pursue anybody in this car until they complete the Garda Advanced Driving Course in Templemore. Any Garda who wants to drive one of the motorbikes must also pass a driving test specifically for motorbikes. These courses last about 2weeks and are based full times in Templemore.

Hope this helps!

shakin

quirkek2 wrote: »

Hi Supersean,

All Gardai are trained for 2 years in Templemore. Once a Garda has a full irish driving license and doesnt have any penalty points they can apply for permission from their local superintendent to drive the area squad car. They would not be allowed to pursue anybody in this car until they complete the Garda Advanced Driving Course in Templemore. Any Garda who wants to drive one of the motorbikes must also pass a driving test specifically for motorbikes. These courses last about 2weeks and are based full times in Templemore.

Hope this helps!

is this common i.e. gardai driving without special training? what is an area squad car? a mondeo perhaps? where a focus wouldnt be?

mc-panda

There's also a Garda training school in Garda HQ which serves the DMR, releasing Templemore for the rest of the country.

Chris007

Just a few quick questions for anyone that can provide the answers. Any replies would be appreciated.

1) What's the normal procedure with getting into the specialist areas when in the gardai and also with getting into the higher rank positions??

2) As a dub would i have a lesser chance than others of being stationed in Dublin? Can you request an area that you would like to be stationed eg. DMR?? Also, can you request a transfer to be stationed somewhere else if, for example, you where stationed in the back of nowhere?

quirkek2

shakin wrote: »

is this common i.e. gardai driving without special training? what is an area squad car? a mondeo perhaps? where a focus wouldnt be?

Yes this is quite common from what i understand. There is a huge backlog of people waiting to do the advanced driving courses as they can only accomodate a certain amount of people at any one time.

Each station has an official driver though and they would be the ones doing the high speed chases if and when necessary.

Mondeos is what most of them drive but there are loads of other cars as well such as Toyotas and some Opels as far as i know. There is also a Subaru for M50 patrols.

quirkek2

shakin wrote: »

is this common i.e. gardai driving without special training? what is an area squad car? a mondeo perhaps? where a focus wouldnt be?

Oh yeah..an area squad car is just a marked car which is attached to each station. Most stations have one or more. Some stations dont have any though....they would be the smaller rural ones. The vehicles get moved around...it depends where they need them.

quirkek2

Chris007 wrote: »

Just a few quick questions for anyone that can provide the answers. Any replies would be appreciated.

1) What's the normal procedure with getting into the specialist areas when in the gardai and also with getting into the higher rank positions??

2) As a dub would i have a lesser chance than others of being stationed in Dublin? Can you request an area that you would like to be stationed eg. DMR?? Also, can you request a transfer to be stationed somewhere else if, for example, you where stationed in the back of nowhere?

1) What's the normal procedure with getting into the specialist areas when in the gardai and also with getting into the higher rank positions??

1) Once you graduate from the Garda College you must work regular beat duty for 3 years before you can apply for a position in a specialist unit.

To move from Garda to Sergeant or Inspector there is a written exam and an interview. Positions from Superintendent upwards are subject to approval from higher ranks as well as interviews.

quirkek2

Chris007 wrote: »

Just a few quick questions for anyone that can provide the answers. Any replies would be appreciated.

1) What's the normal procedure with getting into the specialist areas when in the gardai and also with getting into the higher rank positions??

2) As a dub would i have a lesser chance than others of being stationed in Dublin? Can you request an area that you would like to be stationed eg. DMR?? Also, can you request a transfer to be stationed somewhere else if, for example, you where stationed in the back of nowhere?

You have no choice as to where you are stationed but you can give your preference. Most dubs do get moved back to Dublin because they are more familiar with city life, they can relate better to people there, they have grown up there and so there is less time needed to fit in so to speak.

You can request transfers but im not sure how long you have to be in a certain station to qualify for a transfer. It really depends where they need you and what skill sets you have. If you speak a foreign language for example they may decide they need you in a certain area where they have had previous need for that language.

shakin

quirkek2 wrote: »

Oh yeah..an area squad car is just a marked car which is attached to each station. Most stations have one or more. Some stations dont have any though....they would be the smaller rural ones. The vehicles get moved around...it depends where they need them.

cheers for both!

im familiar with most of the cars i just thought the area car was a distinction for a more powerful car i.e. mondeo as opposed to a corolla

Dee1987

Does anybody know what happens after you've failed the pct? I failed mine at the start of may, because of the push pull machine. and haven't heard anything back yet!

TheNog

Dee1987 wrote: »

Does anybody know what happens after you've failed the pct? I failed mine at the start of may, because of the push pull machine. and haven't heard anything back yet!

You will given a second chance although I thought they arranged a second date with you straight after failing it. Could be wrong though. Give HQ a call at 01 6660000 and ask for HRM

TheNog

quirkek2 wrote: »

You can request transfers but im not sure how long you have to be in a certain station to qualify for a transfer.

You have to complete your probationary period which is 2 years long before requesting a cross divisional transfer. If you want to move within a division then I think you can apply to the Chief Super's office of that division and it will be up to him or her to grant or not.

In order to get a transfer I suggest you work your arse off

AntiRip

Can somebody tell me whats the shift rota schedule? Is it different from station to station, city, town or rural?

mc-panda

s far as I'm aware, the shifts are as follows:

06:00 to 14:00

14:00 to 22:00

22:00 to 06:00

Possibly, there's a need to be in earlier for a handover type scenario to bring those comingon shift up to speed.

I don't think detectives work the 22:00 to 06:00 shift. However, I'm sure these shifts are more commonly only guidelines! I would't say Gardai would ignore responding to a situation because their shift is almost over.

Anyway, are they ever REALLY not working?

shakin

mc-panda wrote: »

s far as I'm aware, the shifts are as follows:

06:00 to 14:00

14:00 to 22:00

22:00 to 06:00

Possibly, there's a need to be in earlier for a handover type scenario to bring those comingon shift up to speed.

I don't think detectives work the 22:00 to 06:00 shift. However, I'm sure these shifts are more commonly only guidelines! I would't say Gardai would ignore responding to a situation because their shift is almost over.

Anyway, are they ever REALLY not working?

i dont know for sure!

but... i think the one you mentioned is a city one maybe dublin,i think it varies from station to station and different units.

e.g. eru work 7am-3pm and 3pm-11pm afaik

and there is always overtime

as i say i think this is the case im sure the gardai here will put us in line soon!

AntiRip

shakin wrote: »

i dont know for sure!

but... i think the one you mentioned is a city one maybe dublin,i think it varies from station to station and different units.

e.g. eru work 7am-3pm and 3pm-11pm afaik

and there is always overtime

as i say i think this is the case im sure the gardai here will put us in line soon!

Well I know that it mostly follows the 6-2, 2-10 and 10-6 pattern and also there is a VERY short changover from the 10-6 to 2-10 rota. As in you can finish at 6am and be on again at 2pm the same day. I guess I was really asking do you work 3-4 days on 2 days off, that kinda pattern?

jimmyjoejoseph

hi just wonderin a question..iv a neighbour whos a fierce habit of tryin to out do other people and as soon as i brought up having my medical he declares hes already passed all his stages just never told anyone and is starting in september..im correct in sayin theres no intake then am i??..i was always under the impression of august..thanks for yer help

shakin

jimmyjoejoseph wrote: »

hi just wonderin a question..iv a neighbour whos a fierce habit of tryin to out do other people and as soon as i brought up having my medical he declares hes already passed all his stages just never told anyone and is starting in september..im correct in sayin theres no intake then am i??..i was always under the impression of august..thanks for yer help

august/november hes either mistaken or talking through his arse:D

jimmyjoejoseph

talkin thrw his arse im presumin..just found it amusing that he never once told anyone bout it till my girlfriend was talkin to him and sed bout me..also claimin he done his aptitude end of april!! he must think hes fair special to get everythin done so quick!!!

blue2b

does new recruits find it tough to get used to the night work. is it a sleepy slow shift. or does it fly by. obviously if your out on the beat it flies but im talkin about station work

keeponrunnin

hey all

im in my 2nd campaign for psni and this is my 1st for an garda siochána.

Does anyone know of anyone else who has managed travelling from the north to templemore each weekend, or anyone who has managed living in the north and working in the south? i've 2 young children and want to spend as much time as i can with them.

is there also a thread for life at templemore?there's an excellent breakdown of life at garnerville, just wondering if i could make use of something for templemore.

I know how demanding police work is, and that i'll not be "off duty" ever really, but i want to be in a position geographically, financially and emotionally that will afford me some semblance of family life.

hope you can help

CapL

I was just wondering can someone shed some light on what the eyesight requirment for the guards is??
The Pwr of my contacts is -1.5. would this be accaptable??

Jay112

keeponrunnin wrote: »

hey all

im in my 2nd campaign for psni and this is my 1st for an garda siochána.

Does anyone know of anyone else who has managed travelling from the north to templemore each weekend, or anyone who has managed living in the north and working in the south? i've 2 young children and want to spend as much time as i can with them.

is there also a thread for life at templemore?there's an excellent breakdown of life at garnerville, just wondering if i could make use of something for templemore.

I know how demanding police work is, and that i'll not be "off duty" ever really, but i want to be in a position geographically, financially and emotionally that will afford me some semblance of family life.

hope you can help

Hey there there is a couple down at the college at the mo from the north, travelling doesnt seem to be an issue.
In terms of family and the likes it would be difficult, especially living so far away the exemptions for family time wouldnt really be effective for ya.

keeponrunnin

thanks for that

our plan is, should i get in, to move to somewhere closer to work but which is close to family up north. we'll be fine though - this job is less a job and more of a vocation anyway so we know what we're getting involved in as a family.

thanks again for your post

Ali08

keeponrunnin wrote: »

our plan is, should i get in, to move to somewhere closer to work but which is close to family up north.



Why don't you move the family down near Templmore for the trainin and then try and get stationed somewhere near the border??
Just a thought but I'm in a similar situation and thats what I'm thinking of doing!

SuperSean11

CapL wrote: »

I was just wondering can someone shed some light on what the eyesight requirment for the guards is??
The Pwr of my contacts is -1.5. would this be accaptable??

http://www.garda.ie/faq.html#R6

pvt.joker

punchestown wrote: »

Anyone down in the college know if there is any truth in the story regarding one student failing first aid/number of other subjects but being given exemption due to the fact that he is Chinese as there is pressure on the department to bring through all qualified applicants that are not irish nationality?
I was told this from a mate down there but no names were mentioned. If true I think its unfair on the thousands posting on other threads who are desperate to get in.

I'd be disappointed IF that was the case. There may be other extenuating circumstances we don't know about.

punchestown

thats why i was hoping somebody could throw some light on it

kerry4sam

punchestown wrote: »

Anyone down in the college know if there is any truth in the story regarding one student failing first aid/number of other subjects but being given exemption due to the fact that he is Chinese as there is pressure on the department to bring through all qualified applicants that are not irish nationality?
I was told this from a mate down there but no names were mentioned. If true I think its unfair on the thousands posting on other threads who are desperate to get in.

I haven't heard anything about this one but i have heard other stories and being honest i doubt it's 100% accurate, i would imagine their are other circumstances that be taken into account ...

I mean their would be noise made on several fronts if that situation were proven to be the case

TheNog

AntiRip wrote: »

Can somebody tell me whats the shift rota schedule? Is it different from station to station, city, town or rural?

The country roster can be found here Untitled.jpg. Hope this is clear to ye. The City roster I cannot help you with at all.

TheNog

blue2b wrote: »

does new recruits find it tough to get used to the night work. is it a sleepy slow shift. or does it fly by. obviously if your out on the beat it flies but im talkin about station work

It can be boring but only if you make it so. At the beginning you will not have many files to do but you still have the diary and if you leave it till you are working a night as member in charge then you are guaranteed the night will fly.Plus you will be using PULSE non stop to get to know the local heads, travelling criminals, the usual public order offenders and not forgetting the dealers too. There is always something to do even if you are working in a small country district HQ.

After a couple of months you will have of the above plus your files and court appearances so you are very busy indeed. No time to be bored.

TheNog

punchestown wrote: »

Anyone down in the college know if there is any truth in the story regarding one student failing first aid/number of other subjects but being given exemption due to the fact that he is Chinese as there is pressure on the department to bring through all qualified applicants that are not irish nationality?

I'm thinking Chinese whispers :pac:

tbh the college is rife with them

TheNog

keeponrunnin wrote: »

hey all

im in my 2nd campaign for psni and this is my 1st for an garda siochána.

Does anyone know of anyone else who has managed travelling from the north to templemore each weekend, or anyone who has managed living in the north and working in the south? i've 2 young children and want to spend as much time as i can with them.

is there also a thread for life at templemore?there's an excellent breakdown of life at garnerville, just wondering if i could make use of something for templemore.

I know how demanding police work is, and that i'll not be "off duty" ever really, but i want to be in a position geographically, financially and emotionally that will afford me some semblance of family life.

hope you can help

Travelling from the north to college is not too bad. I travelled from Cavan, others did 4-5 hrs from Donegal.

With regards to station, try to get somewhere close to home. You may have a Welfare claim there if you have children where HR can place you as near to your home as possible but it has to be at least 20 miles from your homeplace.

I was stationed in Drogheda for Phase 2 will living in Cavan. It was an hour and 20 minutes drive each way. The hardest part was the change over such as :

finish nights at 6am
get home at 7.15 or so
get kids up and get them to school
into bed at 9.30
back up at 12
gone at 12.30 for work at 2pm

It does take a toll on you but I knew it was for only 6 months. Now I'm at a different station that is 50 minutes from home. The change-over are still a bitch though.

Also there is a possibility that you may have to work on. Example me and a colleague arrested a fella for burglary at 5.30am. We Section 4'd him for questioning which resulted in us staying there till 1 pm. We had enough time to get a sandwich and begin our shift at 2pm. So basically we worked a full 24hrs but it is rare. The sergeants don;t want us to work more than a double shift but due to limited resources we had to. Honestly we were on such a buzz we didn;t feel tired till much later though!!!!!!!!!!

kerry4sam

TheNog wrote: »

The country roster can be found here Untitled.jpg. Hope this is clear to ye. The City roster I cannot help you with at all.

are you in the unit for just the 4weeks then move onto the next unit ie. A(4weeks) --> B(4weeks) etc ? ... How do they split up the guards in the stations into the units?

TheNog

You are placed on one unit such as Unit A,B,C or D and you stay there. Each member is assigned to a unit which needs beefing up.

Each roster is 4 weeks long and when a roster is finished we go back to the first week again. If you look again at the attachment I put in and for example, I'm on Unit B. The four weeks displayed for Unit B is a full roster which we completed just last Sunday on Week 4 of the pic so I just started a new roster on early Monday last, worked early Tuesday and now I'm resting today and tomorrow and back in work on Friday night.

ojewriej

I have kind of related question: - what does "you are never of duty" mean exactly? Are you often called to come to work on your rest days for example? Do you have some kind of "on call system"? I mean, what if they'll call you to come in, and you are after having few drinks?

pvt.joker

ojewriej wrote: »

I have kind of realted question: - what does "you are never of duty"mean exactly? Are you often called to come to work on your rest days for example? Do you have sokme kind of "on call system"? I mean, what if they'll call you to come in, and you are after having few drinks?

good question. Im wondering along the same lines. When you're on a rest day or off duty for example, are you still a guard, as in are you still expected to react if you see something illegal and approach them over it?

TheNog

ojewriej wrote: »

I have kind of related question: - what does "you are never of duty" mean exactly? Are you often called to come to work on your rest days for example? Do you have some kind of "on call system"? I mean, what if they'll call you to come in, and you are after having few drinks?

pvt.joker wrote: »

good question. Im wondering along the same lines. When you're on a rest day or off duty for example, are you still a guard, as in are you still expected to react if you see something illegal and approach them over it?

It is a good question and one that is often said but rarely understood.

When they say you are never off duty pretty much means if you are off duty and see something happen you should intervene keeping in mind that you must put your safety and those around first. An example of this would be say if you saw a person being mugged or a place being robbed or a traffic incident then you should at least report it and possibly react but again thinking of safety. I have had incidents such as dangerous driving, once saw a fella checking out houses and one fella selling tools from the back of a van.

Another aspect of it is when on duty you see certain suspicous things like a bogey looking fella hangng outside the credit union or a fella possibly selling drugs. These are things that most normal people would not notice at all but guards do. Unfortuantely when your off duty you are looking for these suspicous characters as well therefore the quote "you are never off duty" applies

You can get a phone call to come into work on OT but this job is like any other in that you can decline.

pvt.joker

Thanks for the answers.

Is it true that a lot of guards work loads of OT to boost pay? Is OT readily available or would it be rare to work it?
Is it available easily if you want it?

ojewriej

pvt.joker wrote: »

Thanks for the answers.

Is it true that a lot of guards work loads of OT to boost pay? Is OT readily available or would it be rare to work it?
Is it available easily if you want it?

And what if you'd rather not do it foir some reason, like family etc. Would that be frowned upon?

TheNog

pvt.joker wrote: »

Thanks for the answers.

Is it true that a lot of guards work loads of OT to boost pay? Is OT readily available or would it be rare to work it?
Is it available easily if you want it?

Some do work OT and some don't. Its more a matter of preference. As I already said there will be times that OT is unavoidable but most OT is voluntary. OT can be got through working on Anvil checkpoints but there is a clampdown on OT at the moment at district where Anvil has either a divisional/national budget

ojewriej wrote: »

And what if you'd rather not do it foir some reason, like family etc. Would that be frowned upon?

Again if your children are with you, then you are putting their safety first however you would be expected to report the crime and give a statement and evidence if the culprits were apprehended.

kerry4sam

TheNog wrote: »

You are placed on one unit such as Unit A,B,C or D and you stay there. Each member is assigned to a unit which needs beefing up.

Each roster is 4 weeks long and when a roster is finished we go back to the first week again. If you look again at the attachment I put in and for example, I'm on Unit B. The four weeks displayed for Unit B is a full roster which we completed just last Sunday on Week 4 of the pic so I just started a new roster on early Monday last, worked early Tuesday and now I'm resting today and tomorrow and back in work on Friday night.

Cheers man at least it's good in the way you can get into some kind of routine if you're doing the same shifts instead of mixing between units ...
I was looking at your earlier post where said "finish nights at 6am
get home at 7.15 or so ... get kids up and get them to school
into bed at 9.30 ... back up at 12 ... gone at 12.30 for work at 2pm"

Their is some credit due there and i'm sure not many people would realise what guards go through on a daily basis outside of work.

TheNog

kerry4sam wrote: »

i'm sure not many people would realise what guards go through on a daily basis outside of work.

thats true not many people do realise what we do on or off duty but yet people critisise us when we appear to them to be doing nothing. That's why I believe it is good to have forums like Boards to tell/show people some of the things we do instead of shrouding the whole job in secrecy.

angelfire9

kerry4sam wrote: »

Cheers man at least it's good in the way you can get into some kind of routine if you're doing the same shifts instead of mixing between units ...
I was looking at your earlier post where said "finish nights at 6am
get home at 7.15 or so ... get kids up and get them to school
into bed at 9.30 ... back up at 12 ... gone at 12.30 for work at 2pm"

It's also handy for planning holidays and/or mid week breaks or even DIY around the house breaks cos i know weeks in advance when the hubby is off!

kerry4sam wrote: »

Their is some credit due there and i'm sure not many people would realise what guards go through on a daily basis outside of work.

This is very true anyone thinking of joining up should also think of how it will affect their personal lives & families, i knew having grown up with it what i was getting into with the OH (having said that i always SWORE i would NEVER even date a cop when i was younger and i ended up married to one!

Dr_MaSoN

Question with regards to hair length.

Since im traveling around europe in july i am getting my hair cut pretty tight and id preferably like to keep it like this for a while, just wondering is this ok down in templemor/ the garda in general?

TheNog

Dr_MaSoN wrote: »

Question with regards to hair length.

Since im traveling around europe in july i am getting my hair cut pretty tight and id preferably like to keep it like this for a while, just wondering is this ok down in templemor/ the garda in general?

Yes the tighter the hair cut the better. The regulations for the males is short hair (again tighter the better) which is above the collar of the shirt. For the women it must be in a bun with no strands of hair. Everything must be tight.

The reason for this is mostly tidiness in the college but I reckon is also to prevent a member being pulled around by the hair while on duty.

I have of and I also know female members who became very relaxed with their hairstyles and let it grow too long to keep up tight and suffered severe consequences for it. One member was left with a fairly big bald patch on her head while she was stationed in Louth/Meath.

Dr_MaSoN

sorry if i was misleading but i mean basically number 2/1 blades or Skinhead....

pvt.joker

Lol, Im picturing a scene from Full Metal Jacket, we all line up on day one and they give us all a blade 0

TheNog

Most went for a blade 1 or 2 all over, some even went for a total shaved look. Others went for a 1 or 2 back and sides and tidied on top