36 serving as Garda reserves in Cork

LATEST figures released by the Department of Justice show that 36 people are serving with the Garda Reserve in Cork city and county.

The largest contingent, of 11, are operating out of Anglesea Street Garda Station, which is the Southern region Garda headquarters.

A further six are deployed at Gurranabraher, with three in Mayfield, three in Watercourse Road and four in Togher.

However, outside the city there are significantly less.

Midleton has the highest number of reserves in the county, with four.

Fermoy, which is the divisional headquarters covering north and east Cork, has just two. Meanwhile, there are one each in Bandon, Clonakilty and Macroom.

According to the figures, obtained by Deputy Michael McGrath, there are no reservists allocated to other 24-hour stations in the county such as Mallow, Cobh, Kanturk and Bantry.

Deputy McGrath said there are another seven reserve trainees assigned to Cork city and county and it is anticipated that they will be allocated to stations following the completion of their training next year.

He said he hopes the number of people signing up for the Garda Reserve will increase in the coming months and years.

“The Garda Reserve initiative appears to be working very well in Cork. I’ve noticed the presence of reserves around Cork on several occasions and they are providing the gardaí with extra visibility throughout the city and county.”

He said a lot of people give back to their communities in many different ways and this is another way of doing that.

“I would encourage anyone who is interested to apply for this programme. It is an excellent scheme which is helping to provide the gardaí with an extra presence throughout Cork, furthering links between the gardaí and the local community, and most importantly it’s helping to prevent crime,” Deputy McGrath said.