A change of mindset among Garda top brass is key if the force is to become a more community-focussed police service, better protecting areas ravaged by drugs and crime, write Security Correspondent Cormac O’Keeffe

Research and accounts by five gardaí show criminal networks are becoming embedded in society and normalised due to fear, writes Security Correspondent Cormac O’Keeffe.

As many as 1,000 children are being dragged into criminal behaviour by adult gangs and crime networks, a report which surveys Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers has estimated.

New thinking is needed to free children as young as 11 who are trapped in criminal networks, a juvenile justice expert has urged.