Mark Ward
Question:155. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Justice the number of community Gardaí in each division over each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24456/20]
View answerThursday, 17 September 2020
Questions (155)
Written answers
I can inform the Deputy that detailed information in relation to Community Garda numbers is available on my Department’s website, including a breakdown by Division. This information is updated every month with the latest data provided by An Garda Síochána, and is available at the following link:
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/An_Garda_Siochana_facts_and_figures.
As the Deputy will appreciate, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 as amended, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. Further, the allocation of Garda resources is made in light of identified operational demand. This includes deployment of personnel among the various Garda Divisions. As Minister, I have no direct role in the matter.
I am assured, however, that Garda management keeps this distribution of resources under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends, to ensure their optimum use. I understand that it is a matter for the Divisional Chief Superintendent to determine the optimum distribution of duties among the personnel available to him or her, having regard to the profile of each area within the Division and its specific needs.
To date, the official categorisation as a Community Garda has simply referred to those who are exclusively assigned to building relationships with local communities and civil society including giving talks to schools, community groups and others. However, it is important to note that community policing is at the heart of An Garda Síochána and that all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in carrying out their duties.
As the Deputy will be aware, the new Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, prioritises the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland through the four year implementation plan A Policing Service for the Future. In its report, published in September 2018, the Commission outlined a vision and roadmap for strengthening An Garda Síochána and the broader national framework for policing, security and community safety. The report followed extensive consultations with communities and a wide range of stakeholders over fifteen months.
A key commitment in A Policing Service for the Future is the rollout of An Garda Síochána’s new Operating Model. The Garda Operating Model reorganises resources around the delivery of frontline policing, placing an increased emphasis on engaging with communities and supporting victims of crime. I am informed by the Garda Commissioner that in each Division, there will be a dedicated Superintendent leading a community engagement team. I am confident that this reorganisation will further strengthen community policing and engagement, and provide a more localised, responsive policing service for each Division nationwide.
In a broader sense, the Deputy might also wish to note that implementation of A Policing Service for the Future will see the Garda Síochána Act 2005 repealed and replaced by a Policing and Community Safety Act. My Department is progressing work on the preparation of a Policing and Community Safety Bill as a matter of priority.
In addition to setting out a new governance and oversight framework for policing, it will redefine the functions of An Garda Síochána to include prevention of harm to those who are vulnerable, place an obligation on relevant state agencies to cooperate with An Garda Síochána in relation to the broader issue of community safety and refine local structures supporting local accountability for policing. In that context, my Department is currently in the process of finalising the most appropriate model to achieve this. All existing structures and approaches to community safety have been considered as part of this work and in line with the recommendation of the Commission on the Future of Policing that community policing and community engagement should be at the heart of new structures and policing arrangements.