Community policing to be remodelled
The committee intends to outline models of community policing, which could be adopted by the Department of Justice.
“Community policing has been operating for 30 years, yet it is unstructured, under resourced, understaffed and is the cinderella of the force,” said Labour Party justice spokesman Joe Costello.
Mr Costello, who has been appointed rapporteur to the committee, said the review comes at a crucial time for community policing, with the publication of the Garda Síochána Bill.
The bill, currently going through the Dáil, proposes the establishment of joint policing committees in local authority areas.
“Community policing is one of the main issues people want to see done, that when they phone up gardaí they will get the service and that they can check what has happened to their grievance,” said Mr Costello.
He said that, at the moment, initiatives like Neighbourhood Watch were “not taken seriously” by gardaí.
He said a new form of community policing would help restore confidence in the force.
The committee has invited written submissions from members of the public and interested parties.
Representatives from the main players in community policing, the criminal justice area and the community and business sectors will be invited to make oral presentations to the committee.
Included to appear are Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy, Justice Minister Michael McDowell, representatives from relevant Government departments and garda representative bodies.
“At the end of the process we would hope to establish a couple of models of community policing suitable for urban and rural settings,” said Mr Costello.
He said he hoped the Department of Justice would take these models into account in designing the joint policing committees.
The closing date for submissions to the committee is March 4.
Mr Costello said he hoped to have the review completed two months after that.
Earlier this month, a report published by the Dublin Lord Mayor Michael Conaghan called for “a complete overhaul” of community policing.
It recommended the establishment of an assistant commissioner in charge of the area and the appointment of community gardaí to areas for a minimum of two years. It also called for “community safety officers” to assist gardaí.
