Frances Fitzgerald sets policing plan priorities

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has set a reduction in reoffending by criminals, a new anti-crime strategy and greater supports for victims as key priorities for gardaí this year.

The 2015 Policing Plan was laid before the Oireachtas yesterday after it was earlier agreed by the Cabinet. In the plan, Garda Commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan said crime prevention would be at the “core of everything we do” and, where crime does occur, it will be investigated “professionally and thoroughly”.

This follows extensive criticism of the state of crime investigation by the Garda Inspectorate, which published a mammoth report on the matter last November.