Comments on: Worst police force in Europe

By: John

John — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:22:26 +0000

The police are very highly paid in Ireland by European standards , German police earn a fraction of what they get here. The other week I read in the press the big payouts many got for injuries they received in the line of duty. Recently I saw a notice in Frankfurt airport asking for donations for a young police woman shot dead by armed robbers. The reason is that they do not make big payments for officers killed on duty as the risk is factored in to the nature of the job. As a former Guard told me, about 30% of Guards in Ireland are decent and hard working and the rest are power tripping ignorant fools.

By: William

William — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:33:27 +0000

Lockinvar…thanks for that post it is good to hear from somebody who knows whats going on.Sadly I had some optimism about the Ombudsman Commission.But I guess any optimism in Ireland is a bit of a delusion.The country is rotten and will never change.Anything supposed to change it is just a smoke and mirrors act.

By: Lockinvar

Lockinvar — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:24:51 +0000

I work as a Legal Secretary and have recently returned to work in Limerick. I’ve seen corrupion, major corruption of the years, between Solicitors, Gardai, Judges, witnesses etc. The Garda Ombudsman recently issued a report on Garda corruption in Ireland. Basically they said that they couldn’t find any significant findings to actually say that the majority of Gardai were corrupt. It’s a joke. The Garda Ombudsman are now trying to eliminate smaller complaints, i.e. complaints relating to searches, arrests, warrants etc. They say that the majority of complaints relate to these trivial matters. Personally, I don’t see any real difference between the original and incompetent Garda Complaints Board and the Garda Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is supposed to be more independent – it’s not. They will only get directly involved in complaints if it relates to a serious assault or death. So in actual fact, Gardai are still getting away with harassment and intimidation and no action is usually taken against them. They may be moved to another station for a few months under the guise of a promotion. Most complaints are dealt with by another member of An Garda Siochana supposedly under the supervision of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman never actually speaks or interviews the Gardai complained. They go on the word of the Garda appointed to investigate and more often than not, they know each other. A complaint about a Garda in Limerick is more that likely to be investigated by another Gard/Supr down the road!! Most people resort to making a complaint because the local system has failed them i.e. they try make a complaint to the Garda’s superior and that complaint usually goes unnoticed, is passed over or they is suddenly have no record of the complaint in the first place.

What follows is sometimes a process of harrassment and intimidation by the Gardai towards the person that made the complaint. It’s a viscious circle people.

By: tony

tony — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:29:10 +0000

The garda are so unprofessional in Ireland and they are getting worse, but the judiciary are also shite so all in all we just have a shit system

By: norma stleger

norma stleger — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:07:39 +0000

Reform, interesting choice of word, the only reform i have ever known in Ireland was a band Willy Brown used to play in.

By: William

William — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:35:57 +0000

Norma if the Gardai were reformed it might be the most important first step in dealing with the crime issue.Same as you cannot build a good house with cowboy builders you cannot build a secure state with a cowboy police force.

By: norma stleger

norma stleger — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:53:09 +0000

yes William, that is a point , but can we risk making it the major issue as no alternative is proffered ?

By: William

William — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:01:26 +0000

The problem is there are too many of them trying to avoid scumbags and looking for easier alternatives aka ordinary citizens.I mean thousands of complaints have been upheld by the Garda Ombudsman commision and combine that with the findings of the Morris tribunal and its obvious that there is something seriously rotten about that force.

By: norma stleger

norma stleger — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:47:28 +0000

Where’s the rationale here, There are good less good and bad in every walk of life.
If I were a member of the Gardai, and I’m not, I would get so unbelievably pissed off with all the bashing, whining and never ever getting any acknowledgment for any job well done, out trying to deal with scumbags, watching hours of work walk out of courtrooms and then another bashing from the public, They must ask themselves sometimes, ” why bother ” as they are pleasing nobody.
Of course there are some right assholes in the force, but there are also many great courageous decent men and women, paying their way, raising families, and trying to protect a populace waiting for them to take a wrong step to reach out and bash them again, What exactly do you want from them, 100% perfection 100% of the time, right, where do you find that any where ?

By: Bock

Bock — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:13:12 +0000

Thank you Officer K.

Very interesting comment.