Garda reserve ‘could jeopardise prosecutions’
Garda representatives also warned there would be an upsurge in compensation claims against the State as a result of abuse of powers by these volunteers.
The Garda Voluntary Reserve - introduced by Justice Minister Michael McDowell - will have powers of arrest, search and detention broadly similar to powers enjoyed by gardaí.
On a visit to Cork yesterday, Mr McDowell hit back at critics of the proposals, urging them to “stop scoring points off an imaginary target”.
“The problem with all the criticism is nobody has heard my proposals regarding this matter,” he said.
“People are talking about hours of training and circumstances in which people will or will not be deployed and the kind of duties they will have, but I have made no proposal yet.”
Last November, Mr McDowell announced an initial intake of 900 recruits in 2006 to be in place by September.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) have come out strongly against the proposals, calling it a ‘mad hatter’ scheme. The association said the reservists will have garda powers after spending just a weekend at the Garda Training College in Templemore followed by 24 hours in-service training.
The AGSI was supported yesterday by Ivana Bacik, Reid Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin, and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL).
“It could jeopardise successful prosecutions and it certainly undermines the idea the guards are a professional organisation,” said Ms Bacik.
She said a number of recent reports had highlighted the need for more, not less, training of gardaí in order to avoid abuse of powers.
An AGSI spokesman said: “It takes 54 weeks before gardaí are trained. There are very good reasons behind that. You have to have a thorough understanding of the law and garda powers.
“I don’t see how 24 hours is enough... Inevitably you are going to have cases. There will be a huge number of claims.”
The ICCL described the reserve as “policing on the cheap”.
