Garda reserve will not work, says top US police chief

ONE of America’s most distinguished police officers has claimed a garda reserve won’t work because the force cannot rely on volunteers.

John Timoney, who is credited with seriously reducing crime in New York with a zero tolerance policy, said Ireland needs more full-time gardaí instead of relying on reserves.

Mr Timoney, who turned a crime-ridden Big Apple around in the mid-1990s under its mayor, Rudy Giuliani, said the real problem is that gardaí are understaffed.