Ivana Bacik
Ceist:683. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice the figures on the allocation of resources to community policing in the Dublin north inner city area for 2021. [50451/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 19 October 2021
Ceisteanna (683)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible, under Section 33 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), for the deployment of An Garda Síochána throughout the State. The Commissioner is also responsible, under Section 26 of the Act, for the management and administration of Garda business, including the recruitment and training of Garda members and staff. As Minister, I play no direct role in these independent functions.
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 further 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 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 all Gardaí have a role to play in community policing in carrying out their duties. Indeed, this is fundamental to the new Garda Operating Model recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and currently being rolled out under 'A Policing Service for Our Future', the Government's implementation plan for the Commission's recommendations.
For the Deputy's information, the area referred to is covered by the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) North Central Division. The below table, provided to me by the Garda authorities, outlines the number of Garda members categorised as Community Gardaí assigned to the DMR North Central, by rank and station, as of 30 September, the latest date for which the figures are available.
|
DMR NC |
Inspectors |
Sergeants |
Gardaí |
Total |
|
Bridewell |
|
1 |
15 |
16 |
|
Mountjoy |
|
4 |
15 |
19 |
|
Store Street |
2 |
2 |
21 |
25 |
|
Total |
2 |
7 |
51 |
60 |
The Deputy will also be aware of the Local Community Safety Partnership pilot which is underway in the north inner city, chaired by Mr Cormac Ó Donnchú. Local Community Safety Partnerships are designed to take a holistic approach to safety issues in partnership with the community. The Partnerships will allow local communities to identify issues of particular concern within their area and work with the relevant State services to develop a local Community Safety Plan to specifically tackle these issues. The Local Community Safety Partnerships will be rolled out nationwide to all local authority areas after the pilot phase of two years.