POU /ERU under fire

Kiera Substantial Keypunch wrote: »

True, we could go around in circles here.

Thankfully this thread of opinions on heavy versus soft policing focuses on relatively very minor incidents. And we could all easily agree that we want things to stay like that. :-)

Take the extreme of poor Mexico. Go soft, allow the cartels to operate freely but avoid casualties, or go hard like the last 2 presidents, crack down on the cartels but have a state of almost civil war in some areas with heavy loss of life.

Gardaí objected to bail. However, the judge refused to remand the young woman in custody. Following arguments from defence solicitor Stephen O’Mahony, he also refused to impose conditions of bail sought by gardaí which were a ban from the Dublin 2 area and a curfew.

Gardaí objected to bail being granted to her father, Stephen Bennett (43), also of Pearse Green, Sallynoggin, who was charged with failing to leave the vicinity of Burgh Quay, Dublin 2, and preventing the passage of a garda van.

Gda Anthony Brazil said Mr Bennett was in a “break-away” group and was, “arrested, protesting on the street, having been asked to desist in his behaviour”.

He said Mr Bennett was cautioned twice and continued sitting on the street blocking traffic.

Additional traffic diversions had to be set up as a result, Gda Brazil said.

Judge Walsh remarked, “peaceful protests have always been part of our history” and granting bail, he said Mr Bennett is not a flight risk. The father and daughter were ordered appear again on January 8th.

jimmythedivil wrote: »

For the last few years almost every few days I see the ARU OR ERU Volvos driving up and down with the occupants looking absolutely bored out of there minds. I can only think of a couple of occasions in the last couple of years when these guys would have actually been needed locally. The situation that most comes to mind was when that lunatic robbed the Garda car and drove to Cork Airport, robbed another car and started driving around the runway while a jet filled with fuel was just sitting there. Look at the youtube video of that incident and see how the security forces seemed to be utterly incapable of intervening. If ever there was a reason for the well armed and well trained Garda response units to intervene this was it and yet they were powerless and pretty much just had to sit there while this mad man put people's lives at risk.

From what I can see the ARU and ERU were created as a response to an increasingly lawless situation in Limerick and other places which has since died down. Remember Willie O'Dea talking of putting the army on the streets at one stage! This is Ireland. Regardless of what the Sunday World or Love Hate watchers would like you to believe this is one of the safest countries in Europe if not the world. We don't have the same urban ghettoisation that they have in the UK and other places.

We don't need huge tank like Garda vehicles with policemen dressed as soldiers sitting in them bored off their arses driving up and down Irish cities for hours. It's a huge waste of money and resources. What we need is a dedicated reaction force that can respond only in emergency situations like the one in Cork Airport a few years ago AND be given the power to intervene.

foreign wrote: »

Don't rely on the media to know the full role of particular unit. They do so much more than is publicised.

weadick wrote: »

Hah ya right. We laugh at the army for being paid to play toy soldiers but the Guards have free reign to waste public money on whatever they want? They should be disbanded asap along with the traffic corps.