Time to arm all Gardai?

Ouch Chinese Byrne

In my opinion it’s time to arm all Gardai.

Ireland has changed and become lawless in many areas just like the UK.

The Gardai are clearly not getting involved we only a stick and pepper spray on there hip.

Kimbot

Giving them guns is not the solution, look at america ffs. Innocent people been shot, accidental discharges etc. If our force got them it will only end in disaster.

FoxForce5

They can't be trusted with penalty points, never mind a gun ffs

I'd have no problem with trusting the Gardai with firearms. That's not the issue.

The problem is that invariably there comes an arms race between criminal organisations and the police, with the police being required politically to express their greater offensive ability, to justify the greater expense. Which results in greater criticism over "innocents" (who often aren't innocent) being killed/wounded.

I'd prefer we simply went the way of Japan or S.Korea. Similar to our own Gardai system as it stands.. but with harsher sentencing for offenses.

Oh, and OP, Ireland's crime is nothing like the UK. Yet. It might be heading that way in Dublin, but it's nowhere close to it right now.

ancapailldorcha

No.

I think it's wonderful that they're unarmed. It says a lot about how safe a country Ireland is. It'd be sad to lose that tacit acknowledgement for no benefit.

The OP didn't make much of a case for it beyond the sort of truisms one might expect from the Daily Mail.

Pissy Missy

No need for a real gun, but yes one of those taser guns/stun guns/ tranqualiser guns may be helpful

brokenangel

Gardai have guns when required, the answer is never more guns

We need more Gardai and more crack down on serious crimes

people complaining about the lack of Gardai and then complaining about public pay rates on this forum 🤦‍♂️

We need to invest into the Gardai, not strip them to bare bones.

Ham_Sandwich

Gardai should never be armed sure look at what happened in america gards are to heavy handed as it is if they had guns theyd be out shooting first and asking questions later

More Gardaí on the beat will achieve infinitely more than armed Gardaí when it comes to having safer communities.

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541004#Comment_119541004

Like the armed Gardai do at the moment?

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119540806#Comment_119540806

It's actually quite incredible how few innocent people, even just unarmed are shot in America given it's population size, it's crime levels and how common hand guns are.

The great irony is that American police excel in non lethal policing in a violent society but due to people growing up on Cop shows they imagine it's non stop killing. By no means are they perfect but the idea that they are quick to shoot unarmed people is fantastical.

Certainly the police there need more Training but they have mastered that bit.

I voted no in this poll.

thefallingman

Gardai have plenty of guns, didn’t a gang of 12 of them execute a chap in his garden last year. The last thing they need is more guns

MakersMark

Only thing that will lower crime is imprisonment and removal of unlimited free welfare to scumbags.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541040#Comment_119541040

It's actually quite incredible how few innocent people, even just unarmed are shot in America given it's population size, it's crime levels and how common hand guns are.

you must be having a laugh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_by_country#2020s

spaceHopper

Do you want them to shoot scrotes? We need more Gardai and we need them to enforce the laws. Thing is if they arrest an teenager for anti social behavior then they get bail and slap on the writs.

There is noting for teens to do.

If they endup in trouble, we have nowhere to put them or no properly resourced pronation service.

Latvian guy in work was telling me, in Latvia they have loads of swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, football pitches and clubs to keep them occupied. His teenage cousins aren't bothers smoking or drinking as it would get in the way of their sports.

Jequ0n

I don’t know if I trust the average Garda to use a gun without getting it snatched out of their hands ..

Wanderer78

good guys with guns, hooray!

kirving

Tasers for all, yes. Guns for all, no. Although I do think we should have more armed Gardai at large events.

I've never dealt with the Gardai in a criminal sense, and the few interactions I've had with them otherwise have been mostly OK.

But I've also personally seen enough to believe that abuse of power is endemic. It might be at a low level compared to other countries, but it's enough to erode the public's confidence in their intentions and credibility.

TagoMago

Absolutely not, would cause far more problems than it would solve.

Out of interest, where are these "lawless" areas the OP has mentioned?

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541261#Comment_119541261

They also claimed the UK is "lawless". The UK is patently not "lawless".

EOQRTL

I'd put them all on fitness regimes before giving them access to firearms. The amount of over weight Gardai out and about is concerning.

Floppybits

Rather see them armed with the powers to do their jobs with proper back up from the courts with tougher jail sentences especially with juveniles.

Ham_Sandwich

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541047#Comment_119541047

exactly, and if that poor man was white he would still be alive

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541047#Comment_119541047

If by execute, you mean putting down or more accurately, defending themselves against a dangerous individual who had already attacked and injured one innocent person, threatened others, and lunged at said armed Gardai with a weapon of his own after multiple attempts to talk him down, then sure.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541462#Comment_119541462

Oh please! Skin colour had nothing to do with it - although if you want to go that route, I recall multiple videos of unprovoked intimidation and attacks and other aggressive behaviour from his supporters in the wider Blanchardstown area in the aftermath. They had the same skin colour too.

erlichbachman

Sure what could go wrong 👀

NiceFella

Stronger prison sentencing for violent crimes would go a hell of a lot further to lowering the crime rate than arming the guards.

Having an armed police force is not a detterant to criminality. Look at the US and the UK. Its not even an argument.

All guns do is escalate situations to a more lethal level and chances of innocent deaths go up.

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541561#Comment_119541561

Stronger sentencing, a more visible presence of Gardai on the streets and properly equipping them to do the job such as a proper communication system and more vehicles.

Ouch Chinese Byrne

why is everyone comparing Ireland to the US in relation to Gardai carrying Guns.

Isn’t Ireland the only EU member country where with an unarmed Police force?

blanch152

Justice requires a balance between deterrence and punishment on the one hand and rehabilitation and support on the other hand.

You can never get it exactly right, and over time, in a society the balance will swing from one to the other. At the moment in Ireland, my tentative view would be that the balance has swung too far away from deterrence and punishment. However, I am open to evidence-based arguments that I am wrong on that.

That doesn't mean I support arming Gardai. An armed Garda force is one extra deterrent, stronger sentencing is another. The greater use of electronic tagging in our modern society, i.e. effective house arrest at night for example, would be another. Policy options to strengthen deterrence need to be examined.

Strumms

The price of one SIG Sauer P226.. in the region of 2,400 euros

there are around 14,500 Gardai… so roughly 34 million to equip them all with guns..

Plus…training….initial and recurrent $$$$$$

ballistic vests $$$$$

ammunition $$$$$

it’s probably not practical.

There is what Garda insiders have described as a a ‘chronic shortage’ of armed Gardai in the Dublin Metropolitan Reigon….it’s been described as a ‘crisis’… so from going there to equipping all Gardai with guns and training them ….

‘more’ armed Gardai id be in favour of but arming the lot wouldn’t be practical.