Would you support the idea of Irish Law Enforcement carrying more coercive weapons?

What type of pole ?

You are proposing that multiple people die, who otherwise wouldn't. I don't see it as necessary.

In the US, the police use this 'fear and danger' card you are trying to play here. Police facing danger every day, putting their life on the line, sob story, sob story. The actual statistics are that policing is something like 10th on a list of dangerous jobs, and the vast majority of police deaths are the result of car accidents. Put the gun away and go get a job as a lobster fisherman, or electrician, or forrest worker, if you are so scared of 'bad guys'.

Hollywood has a lot to answer for. So no, Rambo, your proposal sucks.

They should expand the armed response unit.

I’d make tasers mandatory for every Garda.

apart from cost there is no reason for them not to have them.

between 2015 and 2020 they were only used 125 times. About 25 times a year, so a taser nationwide is deployed once every 2 weeks approximately but there when needed. Protection and deterrent.

there needs to be more protection for Gardai and for decent citizens from these increasing numbers of little feral dirtbags that inhabit and are causing problems in this country...seems like close to a generation of parents didn’t exactly bother their bollocks too hard parenting.

The OP refers to our continental neighbours not the US. I believe that you are the first person to bring the US into the discussion.

Yes I believe that the Guards should be better equipped to defend themselves. And that following the lead of our European neighbours should be allowed take much harsher action to deal with anti social behaviour.

I have witnessed this once in Bialystok Poland and a number of times in the Algarve swift decisive effective action.

Aside from the fact that they can be injured themselves many guards don't want to get involved in physical altercation for the fact that some lightly edited mobile phone footage can be uploaded to youtube which makes them out to be the perpetrator and lead to an investigation into them for doing their own job. An investigation by a body that does not have to inform said guard as to the allegation being made or the person making it - so imagine how easy it can be for someone to make a spurious allegation and not worry about the consequences.

In addition to this quite a few guards have been assaulted and seen how little justice is done when the perpetrator gets a charge of common assault as opposed to assault on a peace officer - often leading to a very soft sentence on the offender.

A lot of people like to give out about how the guards 'do nothing' but in the same breath will judge the same guard if they hear that they had to use a baton strike or pepper spray when trying to subdue a teenager - despite the fact that the teenager can easily be 6ft and 16 stone of muscle.

Justice needs a lot of investment - in the number the guards, the equipment and vehicles available, the training available (especially CPD), the reduction in admin and a significant boost in the number of courts being held, prison spaces available and alternative restorative justice programs that focus on positive outcomes as opposed to what they are at the minute i.e. ways to save money.

There's also the issue about the number of gardaí per 1000 people - a lot of the time the media compares AGS directly with other police services around the world whilst omitting the fact that the guards cover a lot of roles that those forces wouldn't such as immigration, social services (investigation and prosecution element), customs enforcement (again for arrest and detention which customs officers cannot do), airport and harbour policing (officers here hand over any criminal investigation to gardaí unlike in other countries), commercial vehicle inspections (which the RSA do assist with but not on the scale as the UK and other countries which have their own dedicated patrol vehicles and investigative bodies) and do this without the assistance of local municipal police services or national bodies such as the guardia civil etc. The ratios are not like for like.

Politicians like to talk about the amazing work they've done and investments they've made into justice in this country but everything so far appears to be extra bureaucracy and window dressing which won't lead to many extra gardaí on the ground - not to mind gardaí who can actually do something for people.

We shouldn't be in a society where people are afraid to be on the quays or on O'Connell St. But until there's a Government confident enough to stand by law and order and put in the required resources - it's not going to happen any time soon.

point proven re the understanding of policing ..... sigh

on average one gardai is assaulted every day.

As i already said ASU are few and far between , much more so out side of dublin and are a Support not responce unit, they do not take calls in general

house raids are done the way they are in order to catch criminals when they dont expect it thats the whole idea of doing it like that . world wide . you dont understand that ?

next time you read about a large seizure read the whole article and see if it is linked to a traffic stop or some other low key event which is as a result of front line unarmed uniform policing. its usually that or intelligence either human source or electronic

the amount of scummery won't subside with death being a bi-product of dealing with the police.

what deals with scummery is more police and locking them up, not weapons as the scum will just get their own.

your not adding anything to this conversation but proving the point of pre existing issues

home invasion ? do you mean residential burglary ?

my point about proper resource would seem relevant

why do you want gardai to throw themselves into a room of gunfire ? no person would ever do that your not talking sense

it's ultimately irrelevant since even with that individual gone there is someone else to replace, therefore death doesn't bring down the rate over all.

my maths is fine, thanks.

The best person to actually answer this would be a member of the force because the rest of us don't really know if it would be a good idea or not.

Although I think it would be no harm if they could give the inbred scobes that abuse them on a daily basis a good kick in the nuts to soften their cough.