Reserve to be thing of the past within a few years, says AGSI

THE much-trumpeted Garda Reserve is making no difference to the fight against crime and will soon be a thing of the past.

Wed, 30 Apr, 2008 - 01:00

That is according to the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), whose comments come following revelations that less than 20% of the hoped-for 1,400 reservists have so far been recruited.

“We predicted at the time that people would be all enthusiastic but that they soon would realise that it’s not all cops and robbers and it’s not all Starsky and Hutch,” said AGSI deputy general-secretary John Redmond yesterday.

“I don’t think it’s helping [the crime situation] at all. What is needed and what the Government needs to concentrate on is civilian support staff to allow the professional police officers to concentrate on policing.”

He said that while existing reservists are enthusiastic and want to give something to their community, they are limited in what they can do. “Within a few years it’s going to be a thing of the past. It will still appear on the statute books, but I don’t think it’s going to be anything like the minister foresaw.”

When the controversial reserve was put into force by then justice minister Michael McDowell in August 2006, the €135,000 recruitment campaign was described as “the most extensive undertaken by the Garda Síochána”.

The minister told the Dáil in February 2006 that he hoped to see 900 members within seven months.

However, almost two years later, one county has no Garda Reserve member, some counties only have a single member, while the five urban centres of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford are the only areas where the amount breaks into double figures.

The total number on duty nationwide is 264 — despite a statement from the Department of Justice months after the recruitment process started that 9,000 people had applied. This figure means less than one in 34 applicants were accepted.

Fine Gael has expressed disappointment at the low recruitment levels. Deputy John Deasy said yesterday that he would have expected higher numbers. “A determination needs to be made about whether the reserve is assisting the policing operation or is more to do with optics,” he said. “Is there real effectiveness in terms of fighting crime?”

Mr Deasy has raised the issue in the Dáil with Justice Minister Brian Lenihan, who told him in a written parliamentary reply that 264 attested Garda Reserve members were operational as of March 31 last.

Mr Lenihan has said that he “cannot predict exactly” when the full complement of Garda Reserve members will be reached but that the Garda advised him that they are “making every effort” to reach it.

A total of 281 reservists had been recruited since August 2006, he said, but 13 had moved on to become full-time trainee gardaí and the remaining four had resigned.

The first intake started their 10-week training period at the Garda College in Templemore in September 2006. Paid about €1,000 per year to cover expenses, reservists cannot carry firearms or drive Garda vehicles but do have powers to arrest in relation to traffic, public order, theft, and fraud offences. They are expected to work about 16 hours each month.

The AGSI yesterday described the establishment of the reserve as a PR job designed to make the Government look good. “Anybody who is intimately involved in policing knew at the start that it wasn’t ever going to work successfully,” said Mr Redmond.

Garda reserves by county

Dublin 123

Cork 30

Galway 16

Limerick 10

Waterford 10

Louth 8

Mayo 8

Tipperary 7

Clare 6

Sligo 6

Kilkenny 5