Patricia Ryan
Ceist:
318. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Justice the number of gardaí in County Kildare who have received additional training to deal with domestic violence; the stations these gardaí are based at; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59989/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra
I have sought the information requested by the Deputy from An Garda Síochána. Regrettably this information was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy again once it is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to your Parliamentary Question 318 of 1 December, 2022 requesting information in relation to the number of Gardaí in County Kildare who have received additional training to deal with domestic violence and the stations these Gardaí are based at.
You will recall that Minister Humphreys undertook to forward any relevant information to you when it was to hand.
I am informed by the Commissioner that in 2020, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, all training in the Garda organisation was suspended. Following the easing of restrictions an alternative approach was taken to ensure organisational compliance with domestic abuse training and a comprehensive online domestic violence training programme was developed in conjunction with subject matter experts from the Garda National Protective Services Bureau.
This domestic violence course went live in April 2021 and is mandatory for all sworn members of An Garda Síochána, Reserve Gardaí and other relevant sections including some unsworn Garda Staff; this includes personnel in the recently created Kildare / Laois / Offaly Garda Division. Currently 88.86% of the personnel in this division have completed this domestic violence training.
The training consists of nine (9) sessions as follows: Module 1 – Understanding Domestic Abuse, Module 2 - Domestic Violence Act 2018 & Domestic Abuse Orders, Module 3 - High Risk Indicators, Module 4 - Coercive Control, Module 7 - Call Procedure, Module 8 - Post Incident Engagement, Module 9 - Criminal Process - Bail, Module 10 - Garda Investigation File Preparation and Module 11 - PULSE (data quality).
Additional training is also being delivered to personnel on the use of a ‘Risk Evaluation Tool’ by Garda members when assessing the risks and vulnerabilities of victims to ensure they receive the service and supports they need. As of November 2022, over eighty-one percent (81%) of all applicable Garda personnel (of various ranks/grades) have completed these modules in domestic violence and completion is ongoing.
The Director of Training and Continuous Professional Development, Garda College also provides each Garda Division with access to training completion returns to support and manage their engagement and completion of their domestic abuse training.
The Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) and Divisional Protective Service Units (DPSU), now established in every Garda Division, supported by Divisional Victim Service Offices (DVSO) and front line Gardaí are all resources available to respond to domestic violence crimes and to support victims of these hideous crimes.
