Dáil debates

Tuesday, 7 November 2006

Priority Questions.

Garda Deployment.

2:30 pm

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 83: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the extent to which Garda call outs that do not result in an arrest are recorded; the numbers of such call outs that occurred throughout 2004 and 2005 in each Garda division; the person who is responsible for recording such incidents; if such statistics are used when determining the need for deployment of new personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36554/06]

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Garda authorities that the statistical information requested by Deputy Murphy on Garda call outs is not readily available and could only be obtained by the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of Garda time and resources on examining each individual incident recorded during 2004 and 2005 to identify whether it resulted in an arrest. The Deputy will appreciate that it is to be hoped the great majority of call outs by the Garda will not result in an arrest. Normal policing would not be a feature of society if an arrest were made in every case where a garda encountered a troublemaker.

I am further informed that the recording of an incident on PULSE is not dependent on an arrest being made. A wide variety of incidents is reported to An Garda Síochána, ranging from the extremely serious, such as murder, manslaughter and rape, to the comparatively minor. An incident does not necessarily involve the commission of a crime or offence in respect of which an arrest might be made. It could just be a verbal altercation between neighbours. The recording of an incident will, in the majority of cases, be done by the garda to whom the incident is reported. In October 2004, I announced that I was proceeding with the recruitment of additional gardaí and this is happening, as I indicated to Deputy Jim O'Keeffe.

It is impossible to compile statistics such that one could divide the total number of incidents by the total number of arrests to reach some notion as to the effectiveness of policing. If a member of An Garda Síochána is brought out on a call, it does not necessarily mean an arrestable offence has been committed or that an arrest would be appropriate in the circumstances. In many cases, the perpetrator will have left the scene and, in other cases, the issuing of a verbal warning to a troublemaker will be sufficient to deal with the matter.

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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My motivation for asking the question is that I could not find any statistics. I am not requesting that great effort be made in their compilation. I am being asked why the proportion of gardaí to the population in my area is so low compared to elsewhere in the country. Essentially the residents want to know how to influence this. They say they are satisfied when the gardaí respond to calls and they are not criticising gardaí of any rank.

The difficulty is that there are insufficient numbers of gardaí, particularly in rapidly developing areas. Residents in such areas have asked me whether they should report incidents to the local Garda station and whether this would affect the determination of the number of gardaí to be deployed in their area. Is this considered side by side with the increase in population, for example? When asked this by residents, I advised them to make complaints to the Garda so issues could be documented.

Weekend after weekend, I receive complaints that gardaí responding to calls cannot catch the perpetrators, in spite of doing the 100-yard dash after them into the woods or elsewhere. There is evidence of damage to bus shelters, telephone boxes and other public properties and there is a great sense of frustration. It is felt that the measurement of an area's needs is not determined by the critical mass of population but by how crimes are recorded or documented. Will the Minister enlighten me on how a complaint about a serious problem is recorded when a call out in respect thereof does not result in an arrest?

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I understand the Deputy's point. She is saying that if a local population believes it is under-policed and that, by making complaints, it will compile on paper a case for further gardaí to be allocated to its area, it might be tempted to make such complaints. However, the Commissioner must obviously adopt an objective approach and not just a view based on the fact that a certain group of residents is advised by the Deputy to adopt a particular course of action in respect of crime in its area. The Commissioner is obliged when deploying gardaí across the country to make the maximum use of those members. Population growth in the Deputy's constituency has been considerable in recent times and therefore the Commissioner is paying particular attention to such areas. It is in such areas that the proportion of gardaí to residents has declined most.

If there had been no expansion in the force or extra recruitment since 1997 — there has been — many rural areas would now be in the process of being denuded of gardaí to move them to areas such as the Deputy's constituency. We are not in that position at present.

There are two ways to deal with Garda numbers, the first of which is to recruit more gardaí. This is happening despite all the argument and allegations of spin.

Photo of Finian McGrathFinian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Some 14,000. Here we go again.

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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There is also a need to address the question of having gardaí engage in front-line policing activity rather than clerical duties and administrative tasks. Both of these approaches are being pursued relentlessly by the Commissioner and I. A reply, to be given later in this afternoon's proceedings, will show the pick-up in the rate of civilianisation. The Commissioner and I will announce further steps this afternoon with a view to improving governance by placing further emphasis on the civilianisation of An Garda Síochána.