One garda for every 322 people in the country

THERE is one garda for every 322 people in the country, new figures show.

This marks a slight improvement on 1996, when there was one garda for every 336 people.

That’s despite a rise of 22% in the number of gardaí in the force, rising from 10,804 in 1996 to 13,174 as of 14 March 2007.

Details from the Department of Justice show the combined strength of the force, including attested officers and recruits, stood at 14,258 on March 14. Of these, 13,174 are attested, qualified gardaí.

Census details published by the Central Statistics Office last Thursday show the population rose to 4,239,848 in 2006. This gives a ratio of one garda for every 322 people.

The population of the country rose 17% in the last 10 years, from 3,626,100 in 1996.

Dr Ian O’Donnell of the Institute of Criminology in University College Dublin said the population surge in the last decade was almost canceling out the garda recruitment programme.

“There’s been an increase in garda numbers, there’s no question about that,” he said.

“But when you look at the CSO figures, it shows a huge increase in population, so much so that the ratio of garda to individuals hasn’t changed that dramatically.”

He added: “Statistically speaking, there’s not much to read into that improvement in the ratio. It’s a running to stand still situation almost. The population is going up and up and up, so even fairly dramatic increases in garda numbers are just managing to keep pace with that.”

The garda bodies have long argued for an optimum number survey to be carried out, to establish how many gardaí were needed to effectively police the size of the population.

The associations say the rise in garda recruitment was only now bringing Ireland up to the EU average.

Recent figures compiled by the Irish Farmers Journal showed the “commuter counties” outside Dublin, such as Kildare, Carlow, Meath, Louth, Wicklow and Wexford, had a much worse ratio than the average, thanks to a huge increase in their populations.

The Carlow/Kildare garda division had the worst ratio in the country, with one officer for every 558 people. Louth/Meath was second worst, with one to 508.

Following a submission from garda commissioner Noel Conroy, Mr McDowell has backed requests to increase the force by another 1,000, to 15,000.