asked the Minister for Justice if additional gardaí will be put on the beat or on motorcycle patrols to combat the increase of housebreaking and vandalism in Dublin suburbs.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Garda Patrols.
28.
The number of gardaí allocated to beat and patrol duty in the Dublin Metropolitan Area, including suburban areas, is varied as required by circumstances and I am satisfied that the Garda authorities are making the most effective use of the manpower and police equipment at their disposal.
Three patrol cars additional to the existing 73 are being allocated to the suburbs in the near future. The issue of personal radio sets is being extended to gardaí operating in most suburban areas and this will add considerably to the effectiveness of Garda patrols.
On the subject of vandalism, I wish to repeat what was said in reply to a Parliamentary Question on 20th March, that is, that minor incidents of malicious damage are particularly difficult to detect except where members of the public are willing to come forward with information. Even a substantial increase in Garda strength at enormous cost would be unlikely to make much difference in these cases.
The Minister will bear in mind that the request in the question was for the provision of gardaí on motor cycle patrols or on foot and not for the provision of additional cars? Is the Minister aware that in the public mind there is considerable uneasiness that housebreaking and vandalism are on the increase and that this is associated with the withdrawal of gardaí from the beat? As in the case of rural Ireland, where the presence of Garda stations may help to maintain peace, in urban areas the presence of more gardaí on walking patrol would probably have the effect of discouraging vandalism and housebreaking, even the cases of minor vandalism the Minister has referred to.
I do not quite accept that view. In a modern police force, the more mobile they are, with new communications, the more effective they are. I was rather disappointed to find out in relation to vandalism that there is not as much public cooperation as I would like to see by people who know those involved. However, as I said, the organisation is under review.
Would the Minister accept that no matter how keen the observer in a Garda patrol car, he is unlikely to observe as much as any man on the beat and that this is probably one of the reasons for the increase in the amount of housebreaking and other crimes of that nature?
The Deputy is not naive enough to believe that the housebreaker is going to pick on the house where there is a tall Garda standing beside it. He will go elsewhere.
That is the very point. If there were more gardaí on foot, you would not have as much housebreaking.