Where are the Gardaí?

MarkY91

Dick_Swiveller wrote: »

I was listening to a repeat of one of Joe Duffy's programmes today (yes, I have nothing better to be doing) and they were discussing an incident involving a cyclist near the Blackhorse Luas stop in Inchicore/Drimnagh. The cyclist was attacked by a bunch of youths who bashed him around for a bit and then proceeded to nick his bike.

As it happens, I travel on the Luas every weekday for work and have often seen gangs of marauding, grim faced young lads hanging around the various Drimnagh stops, intimidating ordinary law abiding citizens.

What struck me about the chap's testimony was that he had rung the Gardaí after the incident; yet they didn't arrive for 45 minutes.

So my question is:where are the Gardaí? I've been living in Dublin for 30 years and I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen one walking about the place. It's not as if there's a shortage of gurriers around here who delight in making the lives of ordinary people a misery.

Any thoughts?

So in 30 years you've seen Garda walking around a maximum of 9 times?

Ah come on now!! I saw that amount this bloody year.

4068ac1elhodqr

Seems to excuse following excuse...
Perhaps in this case start from the last excuse (no room available in any prisons),
before recruiting any more Guarda.

The cheapest option here may be use floating barge (as they used in the Bronx), instant space for nearly a thousand.

Could be worse (maybe), over in London crime levels this year must be at or close to 10yr+ peaks.

Gerry G

Gerry G wrote: »

You would want to live in a country where armed soldiers patrol the streets? Okaaaaay then

What would be the issue with that, out of curiosity?

As someone who isn't a criminal, I can honestly say I'd rather see the army out doing it, than nobody. I'd rather see vigilante groups than nobody. Someone doing something is better than nobody doing anything.


That said, I'd rather the Army patrolled unarmed, as carrying a gun, that they wouldn't be allowed to use anyway, would only get in their way if they were patrolling.


How many soldiers do we have? A quick google search tells me approx 7,000? Which is 50% of the Garda roster. Imagine the amount of people patrolling our streets went from 14000 to 21000. What a huge difference that would make.

Truthfully you wouldn't even need 7000 soldiers. You'd need about 500. And spread them around 10-20 or so problem areas around the country for a few weeks at a time, randomly. Would quickly sort out a lot of the trouble areas.

4068ac1elhodqr

Deleted User wrote: »

What would be the issue with that, out of curiosity?

As someone who isn't a criminal, I can honestly say I'd rather see the army out doing it, than nobody. I'd rather see vigilante groups than nobody. Someone doing something is better than nobody doing anything.

That said, I'd rather the Army patrolled unarmed, as carrying a gun, that they wouldn't be allowed to use anyway, would only get in their way if they were patrolling.

How many soldiers do we have? A quick google search tells me approx 7,000? Which is 50% of the Garda roster. Imagine the amount of people patrolling our streets went from 14000 to 21000. What a huge difference that would make.

Truthfully you wouldn't even need 7000 soldiers. You'd need about 500. And spread them around 10-20 or so problem areas around the country for a few weeks at a time, randomly. Would quickly sort out a lot of the trouble areas.

Works for Spain and Portugal (various levels of law enforcement and civil defence).

Recently after a bit of anti-social trouble in a tourist hotspot of the Algarve, their baton holding National Republican Guard cleared up the mess.

They didn't even need to swing, instead they pinned any trouble makers to the ground with batons on necks, and asked nicely for them to behave. No arrests were made, and no further trouble occured.

Minime2.5

There are concentrating on catching the escort Ireland offenders

mynamejeff

hmmm wrote: »

Guards earn an average of 1300 euro a week (IPA report). If we're going to pay such big salaries, we can't afford to have lots of Guards. Same with nurses, teachers etc.

so thats a lie anyway , often repeating it dont make it true ,

average mid service garda 8 years service , 48,754 per year , / 52 weeks and taxed same as every one else is abut 550 euro per week ,

no free housing no free medical care and 10 hour min shifts 6 days in a row .

https://careerservices.ie/an-garda-siochana-pay

If you want to blame some one blame generations of political interference in policing.

How would you like a country where politicians were afraid of prosecution if they lie cheated and broke the law.

mynamejeff

Kayleigh White Chestnut wrote: »

Works for Spain and Portugal (various levels of law enforcement and civil defence).

Recently after a bit of anti-social trouble in a tourist hotspot of the Algarve, their baton holding National Republican Guard cleared up the mess.

They didn't even need to swing, instead they pinned any trouble makers to the ground with batons on necks, and asked nicely for them to behave. No arrests were made, and no further trouble occured.

in specific situations this is a very good idea and already happens sometime

such as large search operations in rural areas

kirving

mynamejeff wrote: »

so thats a lie anyway , often repeating it dont make it true ,

average mid service garda 8 years service , 48,754 per year , / 52 weeks and taxed same as every one else is abut 550 euro per week ,

no free housing no free medical care and 10 hour min shifts 6 days in a row .

https://careerservices.ie/an-garda-siochana-pay

If you want to blame some one blame generations of political interference in policing.

How would you like a country where politicians were afraid of prosecution if they lie cheated and broke the law.

It's not a lie as at all. While overtime pay is of course deserved, Gardai routinely work lots of overtime, and so average take home pay is far higher than the payscale that you've referenced. The dogs on the street know that.

Don't they also get rent allowance? Again, deserved if you're working away from home.

berettaman

Dick_Swiveller wrote: »

I was listening to a repeat of one of Joe Duffy's programmes today (yes, I have nothing better to be doing) and they were discussing an incident involving a cyclist near the Blackhorse Luas stop in Inchicore/Drimnagh. The cyclist was attacked by a bunch of youths who bashed him around for a bit and then proceeded to nick his bike.

As it happens, I travel on the Luas every weekday for work and have often seen gangs of marauding, grim faced young lads hanging around the various Drimnagh stops, intimidating ordinary law abiding citizens.

What struck me about the chap's testimony was that he had rung the Gardaí after the incident; yet they didn't arrive for 45 minutes.

So my question is:where are the Gardaí? I've been living in Dublin for 30 years and I can count on my fingers the number of times I've seen one walking about the place. It's not as if there's a shortage of gurriers around here who delight in making the lives of ordinary people a misery.

Any thoughts?

Ask any garda and he will tell you just how thin the thin blue line actually is.


There are decades if neglect and mismanagement to be reversed in the opinion of one garda I spoke to recently.


I heard the same clip and I thought the Kerry woman was very good. Of course Joe tried to belittle her and then when he couldn't he couldn't get her off the radio quick enough. "Have ye no men? " she asked.


Joe doesn't agree with the vigilante thing at all at all.

Paulzx

Kayleigh White Chestnut wrote: »

They didn't even need to swing, instead they pinned any trouble makers to the ground with batons on necks, and asked nicely for them to behave. No arrests were made, and no further trouble occured.

...because our "society" doesn't want a police "force" that acts like this. Many years of listening to a minority of bleeding hearts, anti law and anti police organisations have ensured we have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

We have a police "service" ( police force is too nasty a word) that ensures its members are more worried about offending some prick than actually upholding law and order. The only way for a police officer to not receive complaints against him/her, spurious or otherwise, is to avoid being an effective copper.

When a police officers livelihood and ability to pay their mortgage and feed their kids is dependant on keeping their head down and avoiding complaints our society then has a major problem actually policing the state.

Car99

Gerry G wrote: »

A huge chunk of Guards retired between 2009 and 2014 and were never replaced. Add in all the specialised units and the paperwork which they are now forced to do, they spend more time in front of a computer screen than out on the street where they are needed. On average, there are roughly 1500 uniformed guards working at any one time in the whole country. A sad fact but a true fact

14500 Gardai in the country and only 1500 on duty at any one time , less than 10% on duty at any one time , that cant be accurate is it?

RobbingBandit

Ah that's a civil matter we can't intorvin in them

Car99

Car99 wrote: »

14500 Gardai in the country and only 1500 on duty at any one time , less than 10% on duty at any one time , that cant be accurate is it?

That figure is the whole force. So commissioners, Chiefs, supers, inspectors & sergeants.
There are approx 11,000 members of Garda rank.
Not sure how many are detectives, but a large amount.
There are Gardai attached to national units, hundreds of them.
Fraud, cab, computer crime, armed support units, organised crime & drugs units, special detective unit, that's just off the top of my head.
There are Gardai working overseas.

In the Dublin region, there are approx 3000 uniform members, I don't know the breakdown of figures, but there would be uniform members attached to the courts, on protection posts & other duties I can't even think of!
So, let's be generous, if we take 2500 members of Garda rank actually working the 'regular ' unit in stations.
Divide the number by 5, for 5 different working units, so 500 maybe due to work in Dublin at any time.
Take away one third, as an example, for members in court, in training courses, annual leave, sick leave, maybe confined inside because of injury...... So, take away another 166, so that leaves approx 344-ish, working on one unit at any given time, in the whole of Dublin.
Some units do overlap in hours, so there can be more working.

But it's not a large figure, & I reckon I am being generous there.
Can you imagine how few there are in the countryside?

bubblypop

bubblypop wrote: »

so that leaves approx 344-ish, working on one unit at any given time, in the whole of Dublin.

I know Dublin is big and it's the capital and all, but even with your calculations, that still seems like a very generous number.


I live in Drogheda. Until the scumbags started shooting each other, during the week we only had enough Gardai on duty to have one car on patrol at a given time. So if two emergencies arose, one would end up waiting, or Gardai would have to appear from other areas.

I personally had a 999 call into the local station about a burglary ongoing at my own house. My (pensioner) father was home alone and someone tried to break in, he confronted them and they continued to try and break in anyway. 999 Call to the Gardai, and I started making my way home.

I arrived home 10 mins later and scumbag seen me and did a runner. How long do you reckon it took for the Gardai to arrive? 30 mins? 60 mins? 90? two hours? They never arrived. I rang the station after an hour and was told they'd be on the way. Rang again another hour later and was told they were just a bit busy and would be with me shortly. I told them not to bother.




Honestly, take a look in the mirror - the person looking back at you is the Police service in your area. The Gardai are not a service you can trust or rely on.

I would think you have a handful working in drogheda at any one time.
That's not the fault of the members, the numbers in the country are abysmal.
They could do with doubling the numbers.

endacl

Gerry G wrote: »

It's an average figure. Some guards will earn 80 grand pet year but they do massive overtime to achieve that. Some younger Guards will only earn 30 grand pet year as they are just starting off. The average wage of these two guards is 55 grand per year. Averages are only figures used to suit a narrative at a given time

Round these parts we use statistics the same way drunks use lamp posts.

More for support than enlightenment.

mynamejeff

Kevin Irving wrote: »

It's not a lie as at all. While overtime pay is of course deserved, Gardai routinely work lots of overtime, and so average take home pay is far higher than the payscale that you've referenced. The dogs on the street know that.

Don't they also get rent allowance? Again, deserved if you're working away from home.

There is next to no overtime available in the last 3rd of any year of actual policing work , most of the overtime done is non public which means concerts sports events or the like. paid for by the organizers or political state visits like trump and pence which drain the budgets.

cant you post some proof of what the dogs on the street know ??

mynamejeff

Deleted User wrote: »

Honestly, take a look in the mirror - the person looking back at you is the Police service in your area. The Gardai are not a service you can trust or rely on.

What strange statement, self esteem issues or what .

given the raw material, training, equipment courts system , political interference and media nonsense its surprising that policing in ireland isnt third word standard

lalababa

hmmm wrote: »

Guards earn an average of 1300 euro a week (IPA report). If we're going to pay such big salaries, we can't afford to have lots of Guards. Same with nurses, teachers etc.

Yep, this is it. If we had more gaurds, which we should, and cut out the aul paperwork & pay them less ,maybe slightly less hours, we could have them around the place boxing gurriers. But sad fact in this country , they demand with the Unions 50k salary, coz they can't buy a house etc , and the job is pressurised etc.
If they had double the Gardai at half the price and half the pressure and got some non Gardai to be able to do some paperwork. And if they made housing more affordable.
But no they won't. Same with all civil servant front liners . A one size fits all . Some auld hoor of an engineer or architect should come up with a building regulation compliant factory production line model house for 50k. And the Gov. should cpo a few lumps of land 30/40 mins away by train from Dublin/Cork/Galway near a train track and throw them houses up and feck a load of Garda/nurses/low income civil servants into them and sure we'd be way in a hack. We could have double the amount of everything. Them gurriers wouldn't know what hit them.we'd do a NewYork on it.

But they won't.

chooey

Gerry G wrote: »

I find the whole neighbour story hard to believe. Also, do you think the Guards can legally search every house for a bike without having a warrant for every single house which of course no judge would give to them in the first place. Also, how many guards do you think it would take to investigate this one fictitious story about your neighbour in the way you'd want it investigated?

I don't find it that hard to believe. A couple of months ago I saw two young fellas on top of the garage roof on a house across the road from me with a bag of stuff. I presumed they'd broken in as they had come from the back garden. I phoned the guards and advised them of what I was seeing and was told that as it was a Sunday morning they didn't have anyone on duty (in Dublin 12). My neighbour came home from mass and I went across to tell that what happened and they had indeed been broken into. I drove around the estate and saw the two lads and phoned the guards again that I could see them, described them including their clothes etc and was told they'd go over (this was about an hour later). I waited for about 25 minutes and there was no sign and I had to go. I got a phone call from them 3 hours after that to ask about where the lads were. Very frustrating.
There's a Garda station literally 5 minute walk from where I was phoning. Was there not one guard that could have come to try and get my elderly neighbours things back.
I understand that they're severely lacking in numbers and that the majority of guards are trying to do their days work but it's not a service that I could say I'd rely on.

X111111111111

A lad from work got mugged up by Sally's gap a few weeks back by two scummers. They got his phone, small amount of cash and north face jacket i **** you not. He flagged a passing motorcyclist down and phoned the Gardai who told him they would send someone when they could. He rang again 30 minutes later to be told the same thing before the motorcyclist had to head off so he got in his car and wait for another 90 minutes still no sign of the Gardai so he drove to Tallaght Gardai station to make a report. He was told he'd have to wait until 8pm before he could be dealt with due to staff storage this was a 4pm so he decided it wasn't worth it and headed off home.

The scummers are winning and the justice system of the country could care less.

Dick_Swiveller

chooey wrote: »

I don't find it that hard to believe. A couple of months ago I saw two young fellas on top of the garage roof on a house across the road from me with a bag of stuff. I presumed they'd broken in as they had come from the back garden. I phoned the guards and advised them of what I was seeing and was told that as it was a Sunday morning they didn't have anyone on duty (in Dublin 12). My neighbour came home from mass and I went across to tell that what happened and they had indeed been broken into. I drove around the estate and saw the two lads and phoned the guards again that I could see them, described them including their clothes etc and was told they'd go over (this was about an hour later). I waited for about 25 minutes and there was no sign and I had to go. I got a phone call from them 3 hours after that to ask about where the lads were. Very frustrating.
There's a Garda station literally 5 minute walk from where I was phoning. Was there not one guard that could have come to try and get my elderly neighbours things back.
I understand that they're severely lacking in numbers and that the majority of guards are trying to do their days work but it's not a service that I could say I'd rely on.

I think I know the Garda station you are referring to. A few years back I was having awful trouble with a group of louts hanging round the back of Pearse Park in Crumlin, drinking all day, playing loud music etc etc. I rang the Guards on numerous occasions and was repeteadly fobbed off. I eventually gave up ringing as it was completely pointless.

Eventually a few locals sorted the problem out; they were far more effective than the clowns in the local station.

Paulzx

X111111111111 wrote: »

The scummers are winning and the justice system of the country could care less.

Because we allow our politicians pay lip service to the illusion that we actually have a functioning police service. How many times have you heard a Justice Minister quote a Garda Commissioner by saying he has been informed by the Commissioner that he has "adequate resources" to police the state?

What do we class as adequate? It's completely open to interpretation. Adequate in the eyes of politicians is to provide the cheapest, bare minimum service that gives the appearance of a functioning police force and ensures that there is no mass state of public panic.

A system that actually provides a fit for purpose service that ensures criminals receive punishment/treatment or whatever is required alongside victims of crime receiving justice and satisfaction is not in place. A system that ensures there is a deterrent to crime is not in place.

Major headline crime generally doesn't effect people in their day to day lives. Organised crime etc. provides headline news when a million in drugs and cash is seized. Senior police officers and politicians roll into press conferences with tables groaning under the weight of seized drugs and cash.

However, what response does the elderly lady who's plagued with anti social behaviour get? Eggs thrown at her house, windows smashed, blatant intimidation, scrambler bikes tearing around. Feck all. There is no appetitie to deal with it. The law allows teenagers to carry out anti social behaviour at will. Gardai are in a no win. The sub human parents hate the Gardai more than the kids.

It's the insidous minor stuff that needs to be dealt with and it's getting worse

Rubberchikken

few gardai are held accountable for questionable actions.
their willingness to think themselves above the law means i gave no respect for them and no hope that things in that organisation will ever change.

bringing in someone from outside to attempt to bring some decency, honesty and culpability to this crowd is a waste of effort.

they have been rotten to the core since inception and will never change.
their unwillingness to deal with youths breakung the law is well known.

Jinglejangle69

Paul Murphy tells us he is elected to break the law.


It’s no wonder the youth have no fear or the gards or respect for law and order.

suicide_circus

the way theyre called members rather than officers is more of the emasculation we inflict on them. and dont get me started on those manky ill fitting high vis anoraks, they look like theyre about to start digging a hole in the road

mynamejeff

mynamejeff wrote: »

What strange statement, self esteem issues or what .

given the raw material, training, equipment courts system , political interference and media nonsense its surprising that policing in ireland isnt third word standard

Self esteem issues? What are you on about?



Do you disagree with me? If someone breaks into your house, someone tries to rob you down a back alley, someone tries to steal your car, etc. you are better off fending for yourself as you simply will not get assistance from the Gardai.




For example, If I caught someone breaking into my shed tonight, calling the Gardai would be the last thing on my mind. It merely complicates a situation and would be of no benefit whatsoever.

The Satanist

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Do you disagree with me? If someone breaks into your house, someone tries to rob you down a back alley, someone tries to steal your car, etc. you are better off fending for yourself as you simply will not get assistance from the Gardai.




For example, If I caught someone breaking into my shed tonight, calling the Gardai would be the last thing on my mind. It merely complicates a situation and would be of no benefit whatsoever.

I had an attempted break-in in September 2017. The first Garda car took 4 minutes to get here, followed by another a few minutes later. I was waiting at the top of the stairs with a hatchet, just in case. The perps were caught in the neighbour's garden. I got a follow up call 2 days later and a letter about 6 months later saying the case was closed.

The benefit to us was that we didn't have to deal with body parts messing up my carpet and walls, or me being dead and possibly wife and kids the same. Also, my car keys were safe.

P. S. Invest in good locks.

the dark phantom

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

Paul Murphy tells us he is elected to break the law.


It’s no wonder the youth have no fear or the gards or respect for law and order.

Because Paul Murphy is so popular with the youth, Cool Paul they call him.

Jinglejangle69

the dark phantom wrote: »

Because Paul Murphy is so popular with the youth, Cool Paul they call him.

He’s popular in Jobstown. Work a megaphone he was able to get a group of young thugs to come out and take his advice to trap a woman in her car for 2 hours.