Commission on crime and policing

A TOP garda should be given specific responsibility for community policing, according of a new report.

New ‘community safety officers’ should also be appointed to support gardaí in combating anti-social behaviour.

“We want a complete overhaul of community policing. It is not taken seriously by the authorities,” said Dublin Lord Mayor Michael Conaghan.

A commission set up by the mayor found people were “angry and frustrated” at the level of anti-social behaviour.

The report found 42% of offences, including over 80% of public order offences, were alcohol-related while 17% of crimes were drug-related.

The Lord Mayor’s Commission on Crime and Policing made a number of specific recommendations:

an assistant commissioner in charge of community policing;

assigning community police officers for a minimum of two years to an area;

community safety personnel, funded by Department of Justice, with appropriate powers.

The report said a Community Safety and Policing Team, including gardaí, should be set up and made answerable to Dublin City Council.

The commission also said the National Drugs Strategy should be reformed into the National Alcohol and Drugs Strategy to reflect the central problem of alcohol.