New structures for a new society, Ireland needs new policing
Issued : Tuesday 8 May, 2007
"Crime and anti-social behaviour continue to be among the major issues for the people of Donegal and the Labour party will provide solutions and offer a reform of An Garda Siochana to tackle crime," said Siobhan McLaughlin, the Labour Party candidate for the North East. She said that crime and anti-social behaviour continue to be among the major issues for the families she has met in the communities through canvassing, work and amongst family and friends. "Ireland has changed beyond recognition in the past two decades - mostly for the good. However, a new society requires new structures. And a re- organisation of public services is paramount to reflect this," she said.
"Few services are as important for hard working families and communities as An Garda Siochana. It was founded in 1922 yet the organisational remain largely in place today.In short, the new Ireland needs new policing." She said that the criminal activity and anti-social behaviour needs to be tackled by a bottom up and top down approach. To deal with petty crime and anti-social behaviour we need to have far more visible Garden presence on the ground amongst our local communities. One of the Labour Party five commitments is to have at least 1,500 communities Gardai; living within their own communities in areas they know. "However," she said "we need more than simply increasing Garda numbers. We need a fundamental shift in approach to policing. We need Gardai out from behind their desks and into communities they know, serving people they know. Under our plan Community Gardai will stay working in the communities for significant periods of time.
"Almost seven years ago the Labour Party produced a series of major reform proposals for policing in Ireland. Unashamedly taking from many of the excellent proposals of the Patten Commission and informed by concerns about aspects of policing, it was a blueprint for 21st century policing.
"That blueprint is as relevant today as it was when first published. In particular it advocated greater scrutiny and accountability of the Gardai through a new Garda Authority to stand between the Garda Commissioner and his officers on the one hand and the Minister for Justice and his Department on the other.
"This Authority will incorporate the current the current Garda Inspectorate and will drive the reform agenda, and the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the Gardai.
"The key objectives of the new Garda Authority will be to:
- revise rostering to get Gardai on the streets when they are needed
- drive a comprehensive civilianisation programme
- open-up senior Garda recruitment to external candidates
- improve Garda diversity to reflect changes in Ireland 's population
- use performance data to drive innovation in tackling crime
- streamline top-heavy Garda management
"In a democratic society like ours we need clearly democratic oversight of An Garda Siochana. This can only be achieved by the creation of an Independent Garda Authority. She stated "Labour is committed to ensuring strong, effective, professional policing for every community in Ireland. The changes we propose will, we believe, bring this about."
