Gardaí eye tough laws to tackle gangs and guns
Garda commission Fachtna Murphy wants powers to use phone taps, bugs and other surveillance equipment to pounce on criminals before they act and provide evidence of offences after they have been committed. He says he also needs to have the authority to issue clear instructions on what kind of guns can be licensed for sports and hunting and in what circumstances licence applications can be refused.
About 860 guns were seized by gardaí from criminals and suspects last year, some imported illegally into the country but many stolen from the homes of people licensed to use them. The commissioner said criminals were driving around looking for gun dogs in gardens in the confidence that there would probably be a hunting rifle inside.
