48 new gardaí will help tackle anti-social behaviour and street violence in Dublin

Up to 48 new gardaí will join the Dublin ranks in the coming weeks in a move that will help tackle anti-social behaviour and street violence
Up to 48 new gardaí will join the Dublin ranks in the coming weeks in a move that will help tackle anti-social behaviour and street violence in the city centre, an Assistant Garda Commissioner has said.
Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis addressed the Dublin City Joint Policing Committee yesterday amid rising public concern about street violence after an American tourist suffered life-changing injuries in an alleged assault in the city centre last week.
Ms Willis said her job was to “look at the city as a whole, not just the city centre” but that 48 new gardaí will be moving to Dublin.
“We have 11 people coming to the north-central division and 10 coming to the south-central division and then the rest are dispersed across the other divisions in accordance with the greatest need.
“In three months’, time, we will have further recruits coming on stream."
Ms Willis said the Government had committed to growing the force to 15,000 but conceded that it will have to "grow further in line with the increased population and increased demand”.
The meeting heard about ongoing issues of anti-social behaviour in the north inner city, where some members of the public have said they are “intimidated” to walk there at night.
The area on Talbot Street, where the American tourist suffered severe injuries, is a well-known blackspot for anti-social behaviour, the Policing Committee heard.
The meeting was told, however, that gardaí have engaged with the parents of some of the youths who congregate in the area and have sought assurances in relation to the children’s behaviour.
The meeting also heard of further plans to bolster the garda ranks nationally, with 370 gardaí in training at present and a further group of 160 to 170 gardaí soon to join the training academy.
Assistant Commissioner Willis moved to reassure the committee that high-visibility policing will be a feature of tackling issues in the city, saying that she had "absolute access to overtime" if required.
She also urged more people from communities affected by crime to show an interest in joining the gardaí.
“We need more people to join the organisation and to show an interest. We need people from the communities that we serve to come and join us in the city where they understand the complexities of the issues that we deal with."