Judge backs tough policing to keep streets safe

Dublin’s streets would be vastly safer if an elite garda public order squad of the 1960s, famed for its fearlessness, had not been disbanded, a senior High Court Judge said tonight.

At a lecture on his experiences of the gardai, Mr Justice Paul Carney claimed the heavy-handed detective garda James “Lugs” Branigan, who headed up the unit, had the respect of both the community and judiciary.