Ms Bernie Meally:

Knowing one's local garda is very important for the young people and families we have worked with. I noted in my opening statement that in many of the communities in which we are present people can be fearful or mistrusting of the Garda. The one person that they tend to trust is the community garda because that is the person who visits their youth club and attends community meetings or they have met him or her on some pleasant trip. People have learned to recognise their community garda as a person, not just someone in a uniform which can be a major barrier for people.

It is important that there is some continuity for communities. It takes a long time to build up trust with somebody and if there is quick turnover in Garda personnel, the community must start from scratch every time a new community garda is appointed. For us, building trust takes time. Whatever supports that can be put in place to ensure community gardaí can be present or visible in the same community over a longer period would be a positive development.