asked the Minister for Justice whether any consideration is being given to increasing the number of foot patrols by gardaí in the Dublin region.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Garda Patrols.
43.
The allocation of available manpower, as between foot patrols and other forms of patrol, is a matter for the commissioner. It may reasonably be assumed that the extra manpower becoming available over the next 12 months will result in an increase in foot patrols.
May I ask the Minister if it has been represented to him that foot patrols are the most effective deterrent to crime in that they render apprehension more likely and the threat of apprehension has been found to be the really effective deterrent?
It has been represented to me, but the contrary has also been represented to me. I think it is a matter of combining mobility with this type of patrol. Possibly the best result is achieved by a combination of both in the appropriate circumstances.
Is the Minister aware that reports appeared in the papers recently where a window was broken in a certain street and the man who was repairing the damage during a period of six hours claimed he did not see a foot patrol in that time? Further, is the Minister aware that a burglar alarm was ringing in another street from midnight until 9 a.m. but a foot patrol did not appear on the scene in that time? There are not sufficient police in the city of Dublin to give effective protection to people and property.
These supplementaries appear to be considerably broader than the original question. As I have made clear in the House on numerous occasions, during the last few years there has been a considerable increase in the number of police stationed in Dublin, and that is a continuing trend. The fact that foot patrols may not have been available in a particular area at a particular time is not to be taken as suggesting that no police were available at the time in that area.
Surely the Minister is aware that as a result of the Conroy Report police are working shorter hours. Therefore, it will take twice the number of police to do the same amount of work that was done a few years ago.
That does not follow. Police are considerably more mobile now and, for that reason, they are more effective.
They may be more mobile and it may be claimed that they are more effective, but is it not true that crimes of violence and robbery are on the increase and that the detection rate has fallen considerably?
That is a separate question.