Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 June 2024
14. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice her views on ways to establish a more tangible Garda presence in rapidly growing communities that do not have a Garda station in the immediate locality; how community policing can be built and strengthened; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26454/24]
View answerEveryone deserves to be safe and feel safe in their own communities, and of course having a visible Garda presence in the community is an important part of that.
The unprecedented allocation of over €2 billion for 2023 and €2.35 billion for 2024 to An Garda Síochána demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring An Garda Síochána has provision to recruit the personnel it needs to carry out its vital policing work. This funding allows for the continued recruitment of Garda members and staff.
The Deputy mentioned community policing and this is at the heart of An Garda Síochána. All Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in the course of carrying out their duties. Community policing is also fundamental to the new Garda Operating Model which is currently being rolled out across the country and is fully commenced in 13 Garda divisions.
The new model will provide more front-line Gardaí, increased Garda visibility, and a wider range of policing services for people in their local area. It will divide service delivery within the division into four functional areas, one of the most important areas being Community Engagement. This will allow for a greater, more consistent focus on community policing in all divisions.
The Garda authorities have advised that a member of An Garda Síochána can be deemed to be a ‘Community Garda’ where that person is allocated to a Community Policing Team (CPT) and is responsible and accountable for applying a problem–solving approach to crime and policing quality of life issues in a specified geographic area through partnership and engagement. Examples of this engagement are working with Neighbourhood Watch, Community Alert, or local business fora.
Like most Garda members, those assigned to CPTs have dual functions. In addition to their strategic roles in their Community Policing Teams, part of which requires them to regularly update their Community Engagement Superintendent on the policing needs of their community, they are also frontline members. It is also important to note that CPTs draw on all frontline Gardaí to carry out community policing.
Of course, the Gardai cannot be solely responsible for safety in the community. Our whole-of-government Community Safety Strategy aims to address issues relating to community safety by bringing the relevant social service providers and the Gardaí together to work with the community in a collaborative manner by focusing on tackling the concerns identified by the local community itself. The roll-out of Local Community Safety Partnerships across the country later this year will be a core part of that.
There are currently around 14,000 Garda members across the country. This represents an increase of around 9% since 2015 when there were 12,816 Garda members throughout the country. A new recruitment campaign for Garda Reserves was also launched recently. This competition will be open until 4 July.
I am assured that Garda management keeps the distribution of Garda resources under continual review, in the context of crime trends and policing priorities.
