Gardai Presence at the Crescent SC

Liam79

Anyone else think it mightnt be a bad idea to have one or 2 gardai patrol the Crescent Malls this time of year? the amount of vermin that gather in there is shocking and it can be quite indimidating for women with handbags. Witnessed a woman being shoved against the window of carrig donn saturday by a young scobe no more than 15, tried to grab her bag, didnt get it.
The only real security presence are a couple of security guards and the tall skinny fella seems to be designated to just Tesco now so 90% of the time there is no security atall up around Next/Argos etc.
Given the amt of people in their nowadays, would a garda presence be justified?

TestTransmission

I'd settle for some on the streets,rather than seeing them in petrol stations stuffing their faces

topper75

Sounds like a horrible scene you witnessed.

An ceart agat. The reality is that the city centre is in sharp decline and these suburban shopping centres (particularly the Crescent) are our new retail streets. They require a Garda presence accordingly.

jesusofnaz

there was a pair of them in the crescent yesterday, looked like a patrol

source

Ah lads, I can remember for the last 10 years at least, seeing 2 beat gardai out there over the christmas period. It does happen. You'll start to see them out there around the 8th or 9th Dec.

oh well

would love to see Gardai on the beat in town all the time. I've rarely seen gardai in city centre area unless its a lovely bright sunny day and they go for a stroll. Never seen one usually though. Now traffic wardens, they are everywhere - I just wish they'd go after the parkers on double yellow lines up William Street or double parked on Henry Street/O'Connell Sreet with flashers blinking away merrily, instead of the parkers who are minutes over their disc.

Gardai on the beat does make a place feel safer and with so many scumbags prowling the town, gardai might just make a difference to the general feeling of safety.

I've never had a parking ticket so its not sour grapes, it just annoys me to see the legally parked over-time people getting tickets and the `couldn't care less, I'm important person' get away with double parking.

Berty

As the Crescent S/C is a private building in itself the Gardai cannot "work" the area unless they are invited in for a reason.

Think of it this way, Thomond Park has Gardai in the park on the day. Those Gardai are then paid money from Thomond Park for being there that day on top of their wages from the public service.

I would assume the same thing would have to apply if the Gardai were requested to be in the Crescent by the management.

Has anybody, other than the fight mentioned on boards, ever seen any violence in the crescent shopping centre?

Security are there for shop lifting and stopping people eating and drinking(truly a serious crime) in the stores.

Liam79

foinse wrote: »

Ah lads, I can remember for the last 10 years at least, seeing 2 beat gardai out there over the christmas period. It does happen. You'll start to see them out there around the 8th or 9th Dec.

Actually INSIDE the SC? Really? Are you sure?
As for the incident Saturday...dont get me wrong now lads, its not like she was picked up, bodyslammed and kicked half to death. But she was walking there past jean scene heading towards BB's when this scobe no more than 15 i wouldnt think basically shoved her into the window of carrig donn and grabbed a bag she was holding (the scobe was a girl by the way) she didnt get it and gave up instantly and took off out by Eddie Rockets. Think most people were more worried for the victim than chasing the little knacker. Herself and three other young ones legged it. This would have been around lunch time, maybe a little later.
Was before the match anyways.

Apparently there are regular confrontations between Crescent Comp students and Laurel Hill students lately aswell. Classy :rolleyes:

source

Berty wrote: »

As the Crescent S/C is a private building in itself the Gardai cannot "work" the area unless they are invited in for a reason.

Think of it this way, Thomond Park has Gardai in the park on the day. Those Gardai are then paid money from Thomond Park for being there that day on top of their wages from the public service.

I would assume the same thing would have to apply if the Gardai were requested to be in the Crescent by the management.

Has anybody, other than the fight mentioned on boards, ever seen any violence in the crescent shopping centre?

Security are there for shop lifting and stopping people eating and drinking(truly a serious crime) in the stores.

public place" includes—
[GA]

( a ) any highway,
[GA]

( b ) any outdoor area to which at the material time members of the public have or are permitted to have access, whether as of right or as a trespasser or otherwise, and which is used for public recreational purposes,
[GA]

( c ) any cemetery or churchyard,
[GA]

( d ) any premises or other place to which at the material time members of the public have or are permitted to have access, whether as of right or by express or implied permission, or whether on payment or otherwise, and


( e ) any train, vessel or vehicle used for the carriage of persons for reward.

Berty you're wrong on this, all shopping centres under the public order act are public places covered under (d) above, and as such Gardai have every right to "work" as you put it, in these premises, and do not have to wait for an invitation to enter the area. Gardai patrol these areas on state time and so don't get any extra pay for doing so.

Thomond Park is policed by members on overtime, the IRFU pay the overtime bill for these Gardai to the state, who in turn pay the members who were working at the time. The members you see in Thomond Park only being paid by IRFU and not the state.

source

Liam79 wrote: »

Actually INSIDE the SC? Really? Are you sure?

Positive, i remember back when the high stool was still open, going out there for some grub with a few of the lads and seeing Gardai patrolling around the centre,( i mention the high stool to give you an idea of timeline.)

Liam79

foinse wrote: »

Positive, i remember back when the high stool was still open, going out there for some grub with a few of the lads and seeing Gardai patrolling around the centre,( i mention the high stool to give you an idea of timeline.)

Ah the High Stool Battle of the Bands was great crack

if the gardai do indeed patrol inside the SC then fair enough and i withdraw my complaint with glee
Can they kick people out for loitering?
cos scobes do some amount of fookin loitering in that place!!

Kess73

Berty wrote: »

As the Crescent S/C is a private building in itself the Gardai cannot "work" the area unless they are invited in for a reason.

Think of it this way, Thomond Park has Gardai in the park on the day. Those Gardai are then paid money from Thomond Park for being there that day on top of their wages from the public service.

I would assume the same thing would have to apply if the Gardai were requested to be in the Crescent by the management.

Has anybody, other than the fight mentioned on boards, ever seen any violence in the crescent shopping centre?

Security are there for shop lifting and stopping people eating and drinking(truly a serious crime) in the stores.

The only security in the Crescent that deals with shoplifting is the outside security hired by the stores.

The Crescent security do not deal with any issues that take places in any of the stores, and they rarely get involved in any incidents in the main mall areas.

I worked in the Crescent shopping centre for five years and have seen plenty of violent incidents there.

Mall management and security only go for soft targets. They are great at roaring at kids who are eating or drinking in the main malls, or for shouting at people they know work in the centre, but the minute hassle kicks off or rough types are being troublesome, the mall security and management vanish.


Plenty of shop workers there have gotten awful abuse from members of the public, and a few have gotten verbal and physical abuse from scumbags too.

There was a big incident there about a month or so ago where a big fight kicked off near the Shaws store, and when the Gardai did arrive, they gave the fighters a warning and just left the scumbags in the centre, the scumbags then went on a spree in the car park damaging cars.

I also saw a security guard get bitten on the head a few years back. He was in the old Virgin music store and came off second best to a member of well known criminal family in the main mall outside the store entrance. He was down on the ground and being bitten on the head when the guy who was the assistant manager of that store came down and got his arms around the scumbag and pulled him off of the security guard. A third guy who was a builder working on the mall at the time then ran in and helped out.

All the time this was happening, the scumbags mates were shouting abuse at the guy who was restraining the main scumbag and saying they were going to kill him and get him after work if he did not let the scumbag go.

I was working in a nearby clothes store and we got to see the whole thing up close and also saw two members of the mall security/caretakers walk away when they saw the guy being attacked.

In the store where I used to work we had to call the gardai many times over shoplifting and incidents in the changing rooms, and our store manager had a member of the crescent management down complaining that the sight of the gardai arriving gave a negative image to the centre. My manager had none of it though and she said that she would call the gardai for any incident that she regared as warranting the Gardai.

Raiser

My Missus thought she had 2 little Scumbags circling her when she left her bag down for a moment recently - She wasn't sure if they were actually up to anything or if she was being paranoid..... Looks like it now though.

There is VAT paid at a rate of 21.5% on each and every purchase made there, lots of that cash is handed over by People who are completely outside of the Biggest Inbreeding Showcase in Ireland - Some of the creatures you see in there are Scary!!!

- It would definitely be reasonable to expect a routine Garda Patrol there and not just rarely, or on the occasional day either.

source

Liam79 wrote: »

Ah the High Stool Battle of the Bands was great crack

if the gardai do indeed patrol inside the SC then fair enough and i withdraw my complaint with glee
Can they kick people out for loitering?
cos scobes do some amount of fookin loitering in that place!!

To be honest, i don't think loitering really applies in a shopping centre, if it did then every person who steps through the door would be guilty of it.

krudler

Theres a lack of garda presence in Limerick full stop, saw a big fight just by the new BOI building on O'Connell St Satruday night, bout 6 guys getting into it, well more 2 guys with the rest pulling them off but then got into it themselves until girlfriends stepped in and much screaming later it all ended, not a guard to be seen on the street, was down in the petrol station on the Dock road getting petrol about 5 mins later, lo and behold, 2 squadcars sitting outside while the lads where in there having a chat, although to be fair it was pretty cold out, cant expect them to be out in the bad weather, might catch a chill

FutureGuy

95% of the time I see a member of the Gardai on the streets, they are going for their lunch/break.

I was in the Cresent with the gf on Friday evening...the amount of scobes there was unreal. I'm thinking of setting up a scobe-shop...would make a killing.

krudler

I havent been in the Crescent on a Sunday in about 5 years, if not more. Having used to work in the Omniplex years back I hated going to work on Sundays, its the scobes big day out

Liam79

FutureGuy wrote: »

95% of the time I see a member of the Gardai on the streets, they are going for their lunch/break.

I was in the Cresent with the gf on Friday evening...the amount of scobes there was unreal. I'm thinking of setting up a scobe-shop...would make a killing.

Ure too late! Theres already one there beside the train station! Near where that god awful looking pub is right beside the station with the Munsters crest on it.

baza1976

It ould be great to see a cop on the beat in Cresent all year round. Be handy over time for them !!

Good to see you back Liam after you thread last week regarding the support for the public service. Lets not mention that again;)

Mc Love

As some posters have already said - if the weather is too bad or cold, you wont find a presence anywhere!!

Casperbhoy

The Cresent is like a zoo at this time of year especially when its so cold outside

you wont find many scobes there in the morning though, best time to do your shopping

celliman

Sunday in the cresent is the big day out for the traveller brigade to show theselves,man them young wans must be frezzin.

mike kelly

topper75 wrote: »

Sounds like a horrible scene you witnessed.

An ceart agat. The reality is that the city centre is in sharp decline and these suburban shopping centres (particularly the Crescent) are our new retail streets. They require a Garda presence accordingly.

why is the city centre in decline? what has happened?

Insect Overlord

mike kelly wrote: »

why is the city centre in decline? what has happened?

Empty shop units on every street, fewer people going into the city centre to do their shopping, failure to attract major tenants (e.g. M&S), etc.

4tothefloor

I work in the Crescent every day and also shop there and I have to say that there's a lot of drama queens in this thread :rolleyes:

We hardly get any scobes in to our store apart from the odd itinerant. A relative of mine is a member of the traders association there and goes to regular meetings, violence in the crescent is minimal apart from the odd incident once in a while. There are almost zero scobes in the Crescent from Monday to Friday. Friday late nights, Saturdays and Sundays do attract a lot of young ones and itinerants but it is the busiest time of the week. The worst feature of the Crescent is the Omniplex and I'd have it knocked tomorrow morning if I had the chance as it's a scobe magnet.

Having been to the city centre the last few weekends I'd take the Crescent any day of the week. The city centre is scobe central, not to mention the beggers every 500 yards. You do get the odd abusive scobe in the Crescent, I see it happening in other stores and I'm sure there are plenty of staff/customer clashes on a regular basis but what else do you expect in a city full of scumbags? This is the city we live in and these are the vermin we're forced to live alongside.

krudler

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Empty shop units on every street, fewer people going into the city centre to do their shopping, failure to attract major tenants (e.g. M&S), etc.

There isnt much you'd need in town you cant get in either the Crescent or one of the other retail parks anyway, all the major retailers or their equivalents can be found outside town, easier parking, easier to get around, a roof:D less scobes if you avoid the weekends, i love going to the crescent at 9am on weekdays, its bliss walking around with hardly anyone there

bullets

Saw two Garda Members patrol the shopping center
on Sunday around the same time as the crap santa arrived.

I dont see them patrol much any other time of the year.

~B

Niamh_

mike kelly wrote: »

why is the city centre in decline? what has happened?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/1130/1224259710208.html
This article talks about the decline.

Harpy

you always see two gardai strolling around the crescent in the lead up to christmas.. I go out to the crescent about 3 times a week and i've never seen any big incident..
I think the entrance out by the cinema is the big place for them they all hang out around there and cause hassle in the cinema but they're usually thrown out off the crescent.. I've seen little ****s been told to leave by the security guards loads of time when im out by the omniplex entrance..
I think towns a lot worst then the crescent to be honest.

meoklmrk91

I go into the S.C. regularly and I've never once seen anything or had anything happen to me, same goes for the city centre and the rest of town. I consider myself lucky to live near such a great city. That said, Gardai presence is very scarce, I often see them driving on Parnell St. but after that your very lucky to see anything.

grenache

I work in the city centre at weekends. Last summer, on a week day around 10am, there were two scumbags loitering outside the shop, drinking and tapping passers-by for money. The amount of abuse and bile spilling from their mouths was something else. I rang Henry St to get some guards down to move them on. I was told that there were ''currently no foot patrols in the city centre area'' and that they would send guards who were at the time attending an accident on childers road, whenever they became available. I put down the phone in disbelief. The lack of guards in the city is a joke.

mike kelly

grenache wrote: »

The lack of guards in the city is a joke.

Doesn't Limerick have the highest ratio of Gardai in the country?

Raiser

mike kelly wrote: »

Doesn't Limerick have the highest ratio of Gardai in the country?

AFAIR - State Solicitor recently said the were 41 Traffic Corps Gardaí based under the flyovers of Limerick pointing speed cameras at Mammies leaving Tescos.

- The defence to this reprehensible and daft situation is that they will of course attend to other matters if requested etc. blah, blah, blah.

Fact it they are bleeding the taxpayer dry on a revenue generating Moron Mission & will NEVER be seen anywhere near the bad bend on a Country road where Mikey kills himself and 3 of his mates in a lime green Civic.....

Meanwhile if you ever need to call 999 I wouldn't bother - Check out this thread where Person after Person independently states that they simply do not show up to emergency calls

Its the Wild West Folks, arm your self and Pray to God Almighty - cause no one else is listening.

Liam79

just in the crescent there, 2 guards patrolling delighted to see it
apparently there is always a guard on when the P.O is giving out Social Welfare money also

Raiser

Liam79 wrote: »

just in the crescent there, 2 guards patrolling delighted to see it
apparently there is always a guard on when the P.O is giving out Social Welfare money also

Are the Gardaí claiming that too??????

- Not surprised really.

Liam79

baza1976 wrote: »

It ould be great to see a cop on the beat in Cresent all year round. Be handy over time for them !!

Good to see you back Liam after you thread last week regarding the support for the public service. Lets not mention that again;)

Still fighting the good fight on the politics forum mate dont know what i believe in anymore on that issue to be honest Baza.....
I just hate people tarring all PS with the same brush you know. But i am exasberated with it at this stage. Herself is now of the opinion "let what happens happen" she doesnt have the stomach for it anymore in light if recent hardships you know. I just fear the lowest paid will be hardest hit
anyways..........

irishvamp90

Liam79 wrote: »

just in the crescent there, 2 guards patrolling delighted to see it
apparently there is always a guard on when the P.O is giving out Social Welfare money also

Would it get that rough out at the post office in the cresent??:eek:

MissHoneyBun

Was in Boots on William Street yesterday while two scobes were getting nabbed by Boots' security for lifting half the shop. These two were no more than late teens and were literally trying to leg it out from behind the door where THREE security guys had them wedged, whilst waiting for the Feds to arrive. I mean, how long does it take to get from Henry St over to William St? Hilarious and appalling in equal measures

puntosporting

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

Was in Boots on William Street yesterday while two scobes were getting nabbed by Boots' security for lifting half the shop. These two were no more than late teens and were literally trying to leg it out from behind the door where THREE security guys had them wedged, whilst waiting for the Feds to arrive. I mean, how long does it take to get from Henry St over to William St? Hilarious and appalling in equal measures

Jesus they will be a long time waiting for Feds to arrive!

Itsdacraic

irishvamp90 wrote: »

Would it get that rough out at the post office in the cresent??:eek:

Yes it's bedlam out there. You really are taking your life in your hands any time you go shopping or to the cinema there.


That's what you want to hear isn't it?

MissHoneyBun

puntosporting wrote: »

Jesus they will be a long time waiting for Feds to arrive!

I think we both know I didn't use that term literally

mormank

4tothefloor wrote: »

I work in the Crescent every day and also shop there and I have to say that there's a lot of drama queens in this thread :rolleyes:

We hardly get any scobes in to our store apart from the odd itinerant. A relative of mine is a member of the traders association there and goes to regular meetings, violence in the crescent is minimal apart from the odd incident once in a while. There are almost zero scobes in the Crescent from Monday to Friday. Friday late nights, Saturdays and Sundays do attract a lot of young ones and itinerants but it is the busiest time of the week. The worst feature of the Crescent is the Omniplex and I'd have it knocked tomorrow morning if I had the chance as it's a scobe magnet.

Having been to the city centre the last few weekends I'd take the Crescent any day of the week. The city centre is scobe central, not to mention the beggers every 500 yards. You do get the odd abusive scobe in the Crescent, I see it happening in other stores and I'm sure there are plenty of staff/customer clashes on a regular basis but what else do you expect in a city full of scumbags? This is the city we live in and these are the vermin we're forced to live alongside.

hmm omniplex is a scobe magnet eh??? well in that case i would be all for knocking it down, but we should wait for the next fast and the furious movie and then lock the doors and do it a la inglorious bast%rds!

mormank

you would swear that we plants little garda seeds and grow guards! you people do realise that guards are just regular folk in fancy uniforms with sticks right?? everyone here moaning should join the guards and see how well ye do ye're thankless jobs!! plus ye have to remember that the scobes play by different rules to the rest of us.

MissHoneyBun

mormank wrote: »

you people do realise that guards are just regular folk in fancy uniforms with sticks right?? everyone here moaning should join the guards and see how well ye do ye're thankless jobs!! plus ye have to remember that the scobes play by different rules to the rest of us.

Really? The Gardai are just regular people? Thanks for enlightening us..
If what you're really implying is that the Gardai are bound by shambolic legislation, then I totally agree as the judicial system in this country is an utter farce.

However, the other side of that coin is what allows Gardai to sit in stations playing pool and scoffing pizza for the night. And as someone with 2 family members, 2 friends and 4 acquaintances who are guards, I have been told first hand of the crap that goes on beyond the realm of the public domain.

Any other member of this society in paid employment is expected to earn their wage and fulfill specific duties, which is a great deal more that can be said for many members of the Gardai.

Furthermore, the selection process (which I have first hand experience of) is so incredibly basic that anyone with a head for a hat and the ability to jog between cones is eligible -do you really think this is a suitable way for the primary law enforcers of the state to be selected?

Finally, the 'scobes' play by different rules because the Gardai and Bunreacht na hEireann allow them to -and if that doesn't warrant people's disapproval I don't know what does.

Niamh_

I also know many guards and the ones I know do the best they can.
It is a hard job, and especially in the larger cities, dangerous too. There is no superman to do their job for them. They cannot be at two places at once. They don't have enough to cope with the demand, and no matter how many places they are, criminals will always find a way.
I'm not saying that all gardai aren't lazy, I'm sure there are a few. I have met some ignorant guards in my time, as with any other profession. I'm just pointing to my own experience. And that is that the majority are hard working individuals.
One of the main problems with crime in this society is the lack of respect for guards in my opinion. Again I'm just speaking from my own experience.

MissHoneyBun

Niamh_ wrote: »

One of the main problems with crime in this society is the lack of respect for guards

And respect is earned. My point is that the majority of guards barely care enough to earn their salary, never mind respect.

irishvamp90

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Yes it's bedlam out there. You really are taking your life in your hands any time you go shopping or to the cinema there.


That's what you want to hear isn't it?

Itadacraic you seem to have a problem with my posts because uve always very smart back to me,i dont mind a debate but if its just dumb remarks please dont bother thanks:)

Well if theres a guard at a small post office on social welfare day what would that suggest to you?

Kess73

irishvamp90 wrote: »

Itadacraic you seem to have a problem with my posts because uve always very smart back to me,i dont mind a debate but if its just dumb remarks please dont bother thanks:)

Well if theres a guard at a small post office on social welfare day what would that suggest to you?

To answer the second part of your post.

The reason there is a Garda at some Post Office sub branches and not at others is down to the amount of physical cash held at that sub branch.

The Crescent sub branch holds more cash than the Clontarf Place branch (I know it is on O'Connel Avenue, but don't know it's new name if it has one) for example, so it gets a Garda and the other one does not.

Same way that at certain times of the year you will get a Garda at the sub branch in the Spar in Castletroy.

The Garda is there to deter those who might think to rob the post office, not because the post office is very rough.

Raiser

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

And respect is earned. My point is that the majority of guards barely care enough to earn their salary, never mind respect.

Today is December 5th 2009 - I guarantee you all that the Gardaí will not continue on for too much longer in their present mode of operation without being hit by some scandal that exposes their festering, lazy, incompetent, self-serving, bloated, crime-avoiding, guilty, over-funded, politically-puppeteered, Scumbag, rotten core.

- I sincerely hope that someone from within their ranks possesses the strength of Character and decency to step out of the foul ranks and blow the whistle on the utter criminals in Blue.

P.S. I do accept that a great many Members of An Garda Siochana joined in out of decency and sincerity and do perform to the best of their abilities under dangerous circumstances made ten-fold more dangerous through having Colleagues who are a worthless drain on Society - You do have my sincere respect, I offer my condolences and wish only the very best of luck to you all......

mormank

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

Really? The Gardai are just regular people? Thanks for enlightening us..
If what you're really implying is that the Gardai are bound by shambolic legislation, then I totally agree as the judicial system in this country is an utter farce.

However, the other side of that coin is what allows Gardai to sit in stations playing pool and scoffing pizza for the night. And as someone with 2 family members, 2 friends and 4 acquaintances who are guards, I have been told first hand of the crap that goes on beyond the realm of the public domain.

Any other member of this society in paid employment is expected to earn their wage and fulfill specific duties, which is a great deal more that can be said for many members of the Gardai.

Furthermore, the selection process (which I have first hand experience of) is so incredibly basic that anyone with a head for a hat and the ability to jog between cones is eligible -do you really think this is a suitable way for the primary law enforcers of the state to be selected?

Finally, the 'scobes' play by different rules because the Gardai and Bunreacht na hEireann allow them to -and if that doesn't warrant people's disapproval I don't know what does.

i also have family members that are guards and several aquaintances and yes of course the judicial system is a joke. im not saying it is right or wrong or whatever but how many times whould you do the same thing in your job and to no avail before you just lost the passion for it. the example in this case being arresting people for crimes that they should be off the streets for only to have the same people walk free while giving you the finger and laughing at you!

of course there are many lazy guards or those who abuse their power. but honestly do ya reckon guards would just sit around playing cards and eating pizza if there was proper organisation in place? they need leadership just like most people do in most jobs or careers.

anyway all im saying is its a very tough job that i for one feel doesnt come with the credit or respect that it deserves. perhaps this is a problem with our society becoming increasingly dellusional as a whole, something which i think is patucularly rampant in limerick of all places which can often be seen to come through on these very boards....

JerryHandbag

I've heard stories about a couple of Limerick gardai that just makes me shake my head in disgust.....so if some night, I get a puncture in the dark and I'm set upon by a group of thugs, its really reassuring to know that they're going to house parties, copping off with women and taking drugs WHILE THEY'RE ON DUTY....****ING bastards they have no respect off me.

Obviously not all the gardai are doing this, but its disgraceful nonetheless.