Inspectorate backs calls to arm gardaí with pepper spray

THE Garda inspectorate yesterday rolled in behind calls by middle-ranking gardaí to immediately arm members with pepper spray.

Safety on the streets for gardaí was a key issue and justified the use of incapacitant spray, delegates at the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors conference heard.

Reiterating the call for less lethal weapons for gardaí, the inspectorate said the issuing of pepper spray needed to be speeded up following recent recommendations.

“The inspectorate stands by its recommendations. We would encourage the working group to expedite its review. The key factor for us is very simply the safety of officers in the streets,” said Gwen Boniface, deputy chief Garda inspector.

The AGSI this week voted to arm members with pepper spray. However, Garda commissioner Fachtna Murphy, said the “jury was still out” on whether the weapon would be issued to members.

He was still awaiting a final review on its potential use, reporters were told.

The inspectorate yesterday justified its recommendation to arm regional support units, a proposal which the commissioner is piloting in Cork.

AGSI members have voted strongly against the move. Ms Boniface said she could understand concerns that the units may blur the lines between armed and unarmed gardaí. But she added: “My hope is the issue will be successfully addressed in the pilot in the southern region. At the end of the day the inspectorate’s concern is that the garda, as a routinely unarmed service, is in a position to respond effectively and safely when presented with situations involving firearms.”

Earlier, Assistant Commissioner Louis Harkin told delegates why management wanted to realign Garda boundaries with local authority ones.

The move will make it easier to address criminal concerns according to population statistics as well as coordinating community responses to policing issues.

The AGSI is against the boundary changes, saying they will confuse the policing of areas because of natural separations like rivers and fences.

“It’s important we should do so with guards and the local authority representing the same geographic area, that’s the purpose behind making, in as far as possible, our boundaries co-terminus with local authority country boundaries,” Mr Harkin told members.

Garda management would not do anything rash or “ludicrous” that would negatively affect policing services, he added.