Garda Reserve Experiences

WilcoOut

dentalnurse wrote: »

I can't walk down the street without meeting at least 5people I know lol
if they tried to station me there could it be changed? The other nearest two stations are 20miles away if not more but I wouldn't mind travelling.. I'd be happy to infact!!!

i was delighted when i was given my station,

it was a 'far' away from my home place and i thought to myself, 'thats grand, i know nobody here'

how wrong was I!

in my experience and opinion, its very hard to avoid someone you know, or someone who knows your family when you join the gardai (unless your from Dingle and you get stationed in Letterkenny). sure all you have to do is work at an all ireland final or a paddys day parade and youll know tons!

but that being said, it can work to your advantage and can make your shift all the more worthwhile. i wouldnt consider it to be a massive disadvantage to be 'close' to home

just me tho

jc1980

Heading down tonight for phase 1. When do you find out what your station will be?

kerry4sam

jc1980 wrote: »

Heading down tonight for phase 1. When do you find out what your station will be?

We were told on the Saturday.

tip: keep an eye on the time-table outside the door of the main lecture hall. We weren't given one each and some never even looked at that one, resulting in some arriving back late for the lectures. Not good to say the least!

Enjoy

djh

jc1980 wrote: »

Heading down tonight for phase 1. When do you find out what your station will be?

At the end of Phase 3.

You should make a point of asking the person giving you the lectures in Phase 2 if they can make a request/recommendation on your behalf if you have any preferences for ease of travel from home.
You won't be placed in your local station, unless you are particularly far away from an alternative.

-DeeJay.

kerry4sam

jc1980 wrote: »

Heading down tonight for phase 1. When do you find out what your station will be?

kerry4sam wrote: »

We were told on the Saturday.

tip: keep an eye on the time-table outside the door of the main lecture hall. We weren't given one each and some never even looked at that one, resulting in some arriving back late for the lectures. Not good to say the least!

Enjoy

djh wrote: »

At the end of Phase 3.

You should make a point of asking the person giving you the lectures in Phase 2 if they can make a request/recommendation on your behalf if you have any preferences for ease of travel from home.
You won't be placed in your local station, unless you are particularly far away from an alternative.

-DeeJay.

To clarify for the OP:

You will told on the Saturday where you will be stationed for phase2, and that will most likely be where you will be for phase4 aswell onward unless you have a request to go elsewhere.

djh

Ah, my bad, misread initial question.

For Phase 2 lectures in my intake all of us that were close to Dublin were grouped together and sent to one of the CPD skippers for lectures. Apparently they each get to take a phase 2 class in turns up in Dublin.

Made it a bit more enjoyable too having a group of people at each lecture, rather than the 1 on 1 that some of my class had.

the_view

kerry4sam wrote: »

Welcome to the Garda Reserve Forum. It's nice that you want to know straight-off with your second post on boards of the opinions of full-time guards with reserves. This question does appear quite frequently on this forum and even this thread alone will have it answered more than a few times. Have you any experience yourself on their opinions?

Thanks for the reply kerry4sam. I didn't get a chance to read through the thread from the start so I just put the question out there. I have heard a number of varying opinions / experiences of how the Reserves have been accepted (some good and some bad) so I just wanted to see what Reserves' actual experiences have been.

we3gkfu6qit95s

Strating to get pretty worried..
Heard a rumour after two more intakes that'll be 10% of the force as reserves..

brotherrabbit

Evening folks.
I had my meeting with the super a few weeks ago and he told me the 2 stations.
(providing i pass the medical in 2 weeks :pac:) Now here is the dilemma...
Station 1- Very large busy town- population of 35,000 people
Station 2- Small town-population of 7,000 people.

I am putting it to the board!
What can i expect from a rural station (24 hr maned) compared to a busy town?
Id rather the town but thats just because I think id do and see more but that is the mental picture i have. Could the county one be good???
Cheers folks

TylerIE

brotherrabbit wrote: »

Evening folks.
I had my meeting with the super a few weeks ago and he told me the 2 stations.
(providing i pass the medical in 2 weeks :pac:) Now here is the dilemma...
Station 1- Very large busy town- population of 35,000 people
Station 2- Small town-population of 7,000 people.

I am putting it to the board!
What can i expect from a rural station (24 hr maned) compared to a busy town?
Id rather the town but thats just because I think id do and see more but that is the mental picture i have. Could the county one be good???
Cheers folks

My understanding is that your Super was giving a professional insight into the potential stations you could be assigned to... The actual "Assigning" is done by Garda HQ Reserve Office.

They may be open to particular requests you have, but that really doesnt come up or be considered until your doing Phase II. And at no point have I heard of anybody being directly asked in Templemore "Station 1" or "Station 2"...

However there are pros to each... A rural 24 hour manned station may mean that often the Gardai in it are on Solo patrol and could really do with the assistance, meaning that all going well, you will eventually be integrated well into the units... However any reserve I spoke to who was the first into such a station faced a bit of an uphill battle for the first while - as the existing members needed to become familiar with the role of the reserve, understand what they can and cant do in addition to the normal kinda "assessment" that would be done on any new team member....

The large busy town could be good - you could be utilised fully or kept moving rom call to call etc... However many reserves have found that in busy stations you end up third person in a car.... And if you do get on the beat you may end up waiting for hours each shift in the station while the regular member you are with is at other duties or covering refs etc... Hanging around the station can be ok if your public office is busy and you can help there but its unlikely to be that busy in a town of 35,000....

And after a few weeks it gets demoralising and boring giving up 8 hours of your time on a Sat / Sun to spend over 3 of them hanging around a Station....

searescue

From RTE: http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0411/garda.html

Members of the Garda Representative Association will debate a number of issues when they meet for their annual conference later today.
The issues that will be addressed are pay, the Garda Reserve and the Garda Ombudsman Commission.
The association has rejected the Government's plan to reduce the strength of the force.
General Secretary PJ Stone says 'it does not serve any purpose to reduce the strength of the gardaí who are looked upon as a last bastion by vulnerable citizens.'
Gardaí in Donegal want court-imposed fines to be linked to a person's personal tax record and the collection of such fines be administered by the Revenue Commissioners.
Gardaí in Kerry want six more days annual leave in lieu of the pay cuts and no more high-speed pursuits until the regulations are changed, while gardaí in Dublin want continued investment in appropriate specialist forensic training

trail man

Rank and file gardaí have voted unanimously at their annual conference in Mayo to seek the abolition of the Garda Reserve.
Members of the gardaí say full-time members of the gardai have been 'babysitting' these part-time reservists who have to be 'mollycoddled' and looked after by 'real' gardaí.
The GRA conference was told the Garda Reserve costs €3m year, money which could be spent on the recruitment of over a hundred fulltime gardaí

brotherrabbit

http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/ireland/gardai-call-for-abolition-of-reserve-500943.html
Some very strong words used at the confrence. Anybody think this is isolated view or is it a real feeling for what rank and file think. ( Im doing the medical next week and not yet in but dishearting to see these words..I plan to join the full time force when the hiring ban is lifted )

brotherrabbit

Well lads
Saw today that the GRA again want to scrap the GR. Anybody been speaking to regulars agree with this?

lawnmower1989

i wouldn't worry....they have always been saying it. the government can't back out now after the massive recruitment drive that has just been launched.worst that will happen is that they will jus stop recruiting...which is gona happen this year anyway as they will reach their target quota.

lawnmower1989

they vote this way every year...i wouldnt look too much into it... my own father voted for the abolition of it haha

brotherrabbit

Interesting point. Well Please god il get in on this phase and not miss the boat... Havent used the I pod in month so the ears should be in good nic ha ha ha

Delancey

trail man wrote: »

Rank and file gardaí have voted unanimously at their annual conference in Mayo to seek the abolition of the Garda Reserve.
Members of the gardaí say full-time members of the gardai have been 'babysitting' these part-time reservists who have to be 'mollycoddled' and looked after by 'real' gardaí.
The GRA conference was told the Garda Reserve costs €3m year, money which could be spent on the recruitment of over a hundred fulltime gardaí

Whats the worry about 3 million ? 3 weeks ago the goverment decided ( belatedly ) to return the majority of Garda Ministerial Drivers to other duties - these guys were earning between 70,000 - 80,000 Euro per annum.
Lets say 45 drivers earning 70,000 a year go , well that equals a saving of 3,150,000 Euro.

To suggest the cost of the Garda Reserve is somehow damaging AGS is yet another highly disingenous piece of nonsense peddled by the GRA.

ghost86

Well said delancy. Also, surely new full time garda recruits would need to be 'babysat' and 'mollycoddled' to until they learned the ropes. Plus they would be getting paid to be looked after unlike the reserves. So I believe that the GRA are talking nonsense.

trail man

was also wondering where the figure of 3 million came from, At the moment the number of reserves is roughly about 800. now being paid the princely sum of 1000 euro per annum per reserve, the figure comes to 800.000 euro per annum.
Thats a long way from 3 million...Perhaps mr stone has factored the rest into mollycodling us...
need i say more..

gilly0512

It would make far more sense if the Garda Reserve were given sufficient powers and responsibilities, then we would not have to be mollycoddled as the GRA put it. However there is a hint of truth in what the GRA are saying, as Garda Reserves are literally not allowed to do anything on their own. The Garda Reserve was allegedly brought in to both free up full time members from more mundane task, and for more high visibility policing. However as we are not allowed to do anything on our own, this then means rather than freeing up a full time member one has to constantly monitor you, and as for high visibility policing this can only be done if there is a full time member free to go on the beat with you. More often than not this is not the case, so yet another cornerstone of the whole Garda Reserve concept goes out the window. At the end of the day the toothless GRA will always moan and give out about the Garda Reserve, but sadly we are currently not being given the tools to shut them up and prove them wrong.

kerry4sam

Cheers CO19 for this find: post and article.

"The commissioner also rejected a call from the GRA for the abolition of the Garda Reserve.
Rank-and-file gardaí yesterday dismissed reserve members as 'not real' garda, but last night Mr Callinan told them at the conference that the part-time gardaí were here to stay.
Mr Callinan rejected the GRA's call for the abolition of the reserve, insisting that it played an important role in policing the country.
He pointed out that the reserve would be involved in traffic control and other duties during the forthcoming visits of Queen Elizabeth and US President Barack Obama."

rooger

Typical of those that will not let us have the tools to do the job complaining that we don't have the tools to do the job....oirish solution or what!! I do agree, however, with the honourable speaker from Meath that, after a years service and pending agreement from your sho, regulars should not have to accompany us on the streets. I am sure that some of the ex members that are now reserves would agree with this in a big way....

jonnie5

give us more responsibilities and power ,so we can do more to help our full time members.we are here to help,and assist them.:)

rooger

For all the people who have applied, are being processed and trained don't let the annnual ramblings of the GRA effect your attitude towards the lads and lassies you will be working with in the stations. They are a fine bunch, will treat you with respect, help you if you need it and, most of all, be there if you need them. You will have an "eye opening" time in the Garda Reseve, enjoy it.

ZoneAlarm

I defo think after the 2 articles below that the GRA think long and hard about getting the stick out again, the previous Garda Commissioner, and the new Garda Commissioner is also comitted to the Reserves, you also have the 2 former ministers of Justice and the new of Minister Justice Alan Shatter is also backing the Reserves.:p

Garda Commissioner response to GRA below

Garda chief defends reserve force

on 13/04/2011 08:54:14


Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan has defended his reserve force after demands from rank-and-file officers for its abolition.

The police chief insisted there was a "groundswell" of support for the reservists despite claims by full-timers that they were "baby-sitting" and "mollycoddling" the part-timers.

"I'm very much supportive of the Garda Reserve," said Mr Callinan.

"It's not there as a threat to sworn members of the force, who enjoy my absolute confidence. They are there to assist."

Dismissing remarks made at the Garda Representative Association (GRA) annual conference, Mr Callinan said the relationship between the reserves and the full-timers was going well.

"They have a limited role to play and they're doing a very, very fine job," he added.

The GRA voted unanimously to seek the abolition of the Garda Reserve during its conference in Westport, Co Mayo.

Officers complained that the unpaid part-timers were costing up to €4m a year, which they said could be spent on recruiting more than 100 new full-timers.

The Garda Reserve was set up in 2005.

It is expected to reach its target of 1,400 recruits - a 10th of the size of the full-time force - by next year.


And also the Minister of Justice reply to the GRA


http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/SP11000042


Nice of Minister Shatter to defend the Garda Reserve as from this its here to stay

I was disappointed to read some comments made at your conference about the Garda Reserve and of your vote calling for its abolition. It is clear that those involved in the Reserve are genuinely committed to helping local communities. The truth is that they are selflessly giving their free time to support the Garda Síochána in its work. I would have hoped that such voluntary, communal and committed support for the Garda Síochána would have been welcomed by members of the force. What originally was the FCA and is now the Army Reserve is unequivocally valued as a key component of our Defence forces. Our part time soldiers participate in training operations and are treated with respect by members of the Defence forces. A similar respect and welcome should be given by members of An Garda Síochána to members of the Garda Reserve. Of course members of the GRA at this conference are fully entitled to express their views on issues of concern to them but I regard the vote on this issue at this conference as not merely unfortunate but as also counter productive. It has the potential to sour relations between members of the Garda Síochána and Garda Reserve and to discourage the community volunteerism that serves the public interest and is in the interest of the force generally.

westcoastboy

i am sorry to tell you, if a reserve turns up on a friday night or a saturday night.. the full-timer can be matched up with a reservist, and the two can do the beat, as you need two gardai at night time to patrol..real or otherwise, the other gardai could be assigned to do files or Station Orderly etc, so we're freeing up gardai.. i have of all the hundred odd gardai i meet only met a couple who were a bit frosty with me, their problem.. i policed a match this evening in a local football ground and the Com-Pol Guard said it couldn't have gone ahead without us t o reserves for the last eight weeks.. (he was able to "mollycoddle" us while refereeingthe match,)

one of us is on the local garda soccor team, and any courses that go on we're invited,

however when yhou look at the UK specials we're in the dark ages,

http://www.kent.police.uk/join_us/specials/volunteer_officers.html


i spend nearly 20 years in the FCA/RDF and i have seen more "action" aka rows in one weekend than i would ever see in the RDF/FCA, and we don't cost as much.

Enable/Empower the Reserve, we're here to help.not hinder

ZoneAlarm

westcoastboy wrote: »

i am sorry to tell you, if a reserve turns up on a friday night or a saturday night.. the full-timer can be matched up with a reservist, and the two can do the beat, as you need two gardai at night time to patrol..real or otherwise, the other gardai could be assigned to do files or Station Orderly etc, so we're freeing up gardai.. i have of all the hundred odd gardai i meet only met a couple who were a bit frosty with me, their problem.. i policed a match this evening in a local football ground and the Com-Pol Guard said it couldn't have gone ahead without us t o reserves for the last eight weeks.. (he was able to "mollycoddle" us while refereeingthe match,)

one of us is on the local garda soccor team, and any courses that go on we're invited,

however when yhou look at the UK specials we're in the dark ages,

http://www.kent.police.uk/join_us/specials/volunteer_officers.html


i spend nearly 20 years in the FCA/RDF and i have seen more "action" aka rows in one weekend than i would ever see in the RDF/FCA, and we don't cost as much.

Enable/Empower the Reserve, we're here to help.not hinder

Nicely put !!

Raider190

rooger wrote: »

For all the people who have applied, are being processed and trained don't let the annnual ramblings of the GRA effect your attitude towards the lads and lassies you will be working with in the stations. They are a fine bunch, will treat you with respect, help you if you need it and, most of all, be there if you need them. You will have an "eye opening" time in the Garda Reseve, enjoy it.

Totallt agree with this posting I have been in my station since June 2010 and have never had a situation where I was treated with anything but respect. You will get the odd slagging about been a reserve but it is just slagging and nothing else and you have to be able to take it and give it back just as good. You have all read what the Minister and Commissioner have said about the reserve and we are here to stay. We are contibuting in a positive way on a day to day basis and that will be seen for what it is. As time goes by the GRA will see sense and find some other subject to crib about but until that happens lads and lasses keep up the good work, support your full time colleagues and pave the way for future generations of Reserves and also the future full time members who will commence their police career as reserves.

redsurfer

Hi all, saw this on the Mets Q & A page, thought it may be of interest.
Hopefully it will be done the same here in time

Are you recruiting for new constables?
We are currently not accepting applications for the role of police constable from external applicants.

The MPS has changed the way that it recruits police constables. The majority of police officer recruits will now come from serving MPS special constables and PCSOs. In the future there will be opportunities for external applicants to apply to become police officers if they work in an occupation that means they can not become special constables (as precluded in Police Regulations) or they are unable to perform the role by virtue of their personal circumstances.

Currently the only route for external applicants to become a police officer is by joining the MPS as a Special Constable. MPS special constables are able to apply for the role of police officer when internal vacancies arise if they have attained Independent Patrol Status (IPS) and have a current satisfactory appraisal. Independent Patrol Status is the term given when a special constable has reached a satisfactory standard of competence to enable them to patrol independently.

Special constables will be required to complete an internal application form (when internal vacancies arise) and undertake the Police National Recruitment Standard (NRS) assessment process, which is often called Day 1 (assessment centre) and Day 2 (medical and fitness). All special constable candidates, who achieve the MPS standard at Day 1 NRS, will undertake training which recognises their previous learning and operational experience before being appointed as a police constable. In future when external recruitment reopens, it is likely to be for a very limited number of vacancies.

Applications will be invited from individuals precluded from being special constables by virtue of their profession or personal circumstances (including graduates) and who hold a current accredited prior learning qualification. The selection process would again include the NRS process. If successful, upon appointment these officers would enter a training programme.

The MPS has just launched it first internal selection campaign based on the new approach to police constable selection and training. The internal selection campaign is aimed at selecting from currently serving MPS special constables and PCSOs. To find out more and to apply to become a special constable, please visit www.metpolicecareers.co.uk/specials