Males account for most barricade incidents, but females increasingly involved, garda report says

2,000 gardai — or one in seven members — avail of mental health supports

The Garda 2025 Annual Report says women accounted for almost one in five of barricade cases in 2025. File picture

There was a significant increase in barricade incidents involving women last year, according to the Garda 2025 Annual Report. It says women accounted for almost one in five of the cases in 2025.

The report says that specialist garda negotiators engaged with 103 people who had barricaded themselves into a building, usually their home, and threatened to commit violence against other occupants and/or themselves.

Of the 103 cases involving engagement, 93 were male and 20 were female (18% of the total). The report said the largest demographic group was “males aged 31–40”.

But it added: “Female engagements increased significantly compared with the previous year.” 

The report said mental health crises are the “primary driver” of barricade incidents and that more of the incidents involved weapons last year. 

The Garda report also highlights the impact of policing on the mental health of gardaí, with one in seven gardaí availing of supports in 2025. A total of 2,095 gardaí were supported — some 15% of the garda strength last year — with almost 1,080 new referrals last year.

Of the total number being helped, 978 availed of the psychological support programme, 253 entered the trauma service and 864 joined the employee assistance programme.

The report says the Garda National Negotiation Unit (NNU) was activated for a total of 118 incidents in 2025, which, it said, was a 6% increase on 2024 and a 23% increase on 2023.

“Of these, 112 incidents related to Hostage Barricade Suicide (HBS) scenarios, while six involved suspected kidnapping cases,” the report said.

It added: “Mental health crises remain the primary driver of negotiator activations, accounting for 61% of incidents. Domestic or criminal incidents accounted for 20%, while 11% related to High Risk Missing or Vulnerable Persons.

“Barricaded subjects with weapons increased from 24 to 30 incidents during the year.” 

It says there were increased call-outs in the Dublin and Eastern regions and four international incidents.

The report says there were 69 trained negotiators, but that a shortage exists in Dublin, with only eight trained personnel. It says approval has been granted for 16 more negotiators during 2026.

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The NNU is part of Special Tactics Operations Command (STOC), which also houses the Armed Support Units (ASU), the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and the STOC Training Unit.

STOC, part of the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service, enhanced its weaponry in 2025, and conducted a wide range of exercises. It also expanded its capabilities in protecting critical infrastructure, including the purchase and use of modern drones and counter-drone equipment.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau increased the number of arrests of organised crime figures, from 148 in 2024 to 165 in 2025. The Garda National Technical Bureau said a "notable development" last year was the emergence of 3D printed firearms, with nine pistols being recovered.

• Cormac O'Keeffe, security correspondent