Calls for drug units to combat crisis

LESS than one-in-five garda divisions have a dedicated drug unit, middle-ranking gardaí said yesterday.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) is calling on the Government to recruit 336 gardaí to provide each garda division with a properly resourced drug unit.

“We want 336 extra gardaí recruited for drug units. That’s what should be on the ground as a minimum,” Pat Flynn, AGSI general secretary, said yesterday.

“There are 28 divisions. Just one in five of those have a dedicated unit, at most.

“Of those, many can be taken off drugs and put on policing or other serious crime. The dedicated units should be dealing with the drugs issue all the time.”

He said they wanted two sergeants and 10 gardaí for each drug unit.

Mr Flynn said these additional officers would have to be recruited, as specialist units were constantly drawing from the stretched uniformed section.

In a submission to the mid-term review of the National Drugs Strategy, AGSI said hard drugs were in every town in the country, with a particular rise in the availability of cocaine.

Mr Flynn said drug units needed far better equipment, including designated vehicles, mobile phones and surveillance equipment.

“Some drug units down the country don’t even have a car available. You can’t do anything if you don’t have a car.”

The AGSI submission also drew attention to the lack of garda sniffer dogs.

“At present it is extremely difficult to get a dog from the Dog Unit. Sometimes up to a week’s notice is required - totally impractical from a police response perspective.”

AGSI also raised concern at the easy availability of non-prescription drugs, such as Solpadeine.

“The information we have is that some chemists are selling an awful lot of that drug and that people are becoming addicted. There needs to be a look at the sale of non-prescription drugs and greater restrictions,” said Mr Flynn.

AGSI also estimates that only 10% of drug dealers convicted under legislation stipulating a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence have been jailed for that long.

The association said there was a problem in certain areas where judges were soft on sentencing and these areas had become attractive for dealers.