Garda Reserve: in favour or not?

**Shelsman** · 27/04/2006, 12:56 PM

Are you in favour of the proposed Garda Reserve?

I've kept this to a simple Yes / No answer.

Feel free to discuss the pros and cons.

**Macy** · 27/04/2006, 1:15 PM

The proposed one, no. I don't think it's been thought through, would question the amount of training etc and I feel it's a political stunt by a Minister on the rack over crime figures and the number of new cops this Government promised.

In general, not sure. Never really noticed them one way or the other when I lived in the Britain. I'd have doubts about the type of people that would apply to join them, and Ireland is a very different environment compared to Britain in terms of social connections throughout the population.

Alot of the problems of guards doing paperwork is brought about by the Government restrictions on Civil Service recruitment imo. As with decentralisation, another McCreevy masterstroke that didn't take into account the needs of the country. Increased population means you need at least the same number of civil servants not less. Hence we have nurses, guards etc etc pulled off the frontline to do clerical tasks.

**WeAreRovers** · 27/04/2006, 2:01 PM

Originally Posted by Macy

Hence we have nurses, guards etc etc pulled off the frontline to do clerical tasks.

That's the bottom line, no Gardai should be desk-bound whatsoever. All uniformed cops should be on the beat with civilians doing the desk jobs. Then there'd be no need for this farcical reserve.

KOH

**Dodge** · 27/04/2006, 2:09 PM

Originally Posted by Macy

I'd have doubts about the type of people that would apply to join them

Serious doubts. What kind of access would they have? Whats the motivation here?

**S�C** · 27/04/2006, 3:39 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Serious doubts. What kind of access would they have? Whats the motivation here?

Even if they were just on the crime scene, not even involved in an arrest a lawyer could call them to the stand, feeding frenzy would ensue...lots of gougers would walk on technical points.

Give the Garda� proper equipment and resources instead. Civs could do most non-beat Garda jobs, but then again they could do most lawyers/nurses/doctors etc etc clerical work but Unions aint going to swallow that pill

**Macy** · 28/04/2006, 6:58 AM

Originally Posted by S�C

but Unions aint going to swallow that pill

What won't unions swallow? The GRA and INO are calling for less paperwork, the public sector unions are calling for empty positions to be filled. QED, the unions ain't going to swallow that pill.

**MervilleUnited** · 28/04/2006, 7:19 PM

I suppose if they were all put on traffic duty at the weekend, increasing the prospect of being caught, think of the hundreds of lives saved! The again maybe the Army should be out on traffic duty, more Irish Citizens are dying on the roads than in any conflict

**gael353** · 01/05/2006, 8:32 PM

What id really like is that the poll would be set up properly, in that it isnt a secret vote. The names off all those who vote should be able to be seen. This stops multiple voting.

**Macy** · 02/05/2006, 7:32 AM

Originally Posted by gael353

This stops multiple voting.

Multiple voting isn't available anyway, unless people are using multiple usernames. In which case displaying names isn't going to matter anyway...

**Lionel Ritchie** · 02/05/2006, 10:38 AM

Not in favour.

The experience with reserve police forces on this island has not been a good one. While there were undoubtedly ordinary decent Joes in the B-Specials, the UDR and RUC reserve -all were hopelessly compromised by well organised thugs within their ranks who used their uniform to commit vile deeds. That happened in a "war-time" situation where you'd hope screening would be at an optimun and where the individuals in question were, in their own eyes, loyal to their state and doing a little wrong for some greater good.

Now imagine a reserve down here where the entire operation seems to be set up to run on the cheap, where screening will near certainly be inadequate and where those with most to benefit from getting in "under the skin" of the gardai are loyal neither to the state nor the rule of law.

We should actually use the army for a lot more than we do IMO. if one airliner per year crashed at dublin airport it'd close -but we just accept 400+ dead on our roads. Put the army on points duty and let's blitz the fcuker.

**CollegeTillIDie** · 03/05/2006, 6:54 AM

Well is it any use sending out a bunch of untrained uniformed , unarmed people to add to the trained , unarmed uniformed people we already have, and not give any of them stab vests, in this knife crazy country we live in?

**Dodge** · 03/05/2006, 9:10 AM

How many Garda have been stabbed in the past ten years?

Probably less than 10 I'd guess...

**Lionel Ritchie** · 03/05/2006, 9:37 AM

Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie

Well is it any use sending out a bunch of untrained uniformed , unarmed people to add to the trained , unarmed uniformed people we already have, and not give any of them stab vests, in this knife crazy country we live in?

Not certain it's what you're advocating but I'd be dead set against the idea of arming the Gardai. Putting more guns into the mix is not going to deflate a developing gun culture. I could actually put up with marshall law for a few days -just let the cops and army kick in whatever doors they want in search of weapons -before giving weapons to the police.

**dahamsta** · 03/05/2006, 10:18 AM

A stab vest is "arming the Gardai"?

Dodge, I presume you're joking? One stabbing a year in Ireland?

**Ash** · 03/05/2006, 10:22 AM

As I think Macy siad, if people are joinging the reserves or whatever they
should be doing the desk jobs/paper work etc and have the properly trained
Gardai on the street.

Was there a thing brought up recently about a trained Garda spending his
working day running the tuc shop in Templemore? I didnt see/read it, just
heard someone in work on about it so apologies if thats inaccurate/made up etc