Garda Reserve to Full Time Garda

DustyMan

Moved to Reserve forum..... apologies mod's. Please remove thread.

3fullback

DustyMan wrote: »

So now that the Garda Reserve (GR) force is operational for several years and there is a recent announcement to recruit full time Garda trainees. Has anyone any opinions on allowing exemptions for Garda reserves to apply to the full time force i.e for e.g upper age limit exemption et cetera? for e.g GR's with attested 2 years experience being allowed to apply up to age of 49 (just an example).

Any opinions out there?

At the end of the day frontline policing is for the youth !

DustyMan

Garda Reserve to Full Time Garda

Moved to Reserve forum..... apologies mod's. Please remove thread from here.

Raider190

There are a huge number of reserves who complete in excess of 500 to 800 hours of service per year and prove to be a huge asset to their respective units. All over the world, police forces make effective use of their reserve officers. The Metropolitian Special Constabulary has been in place for over 180 years and has a rank structure and the special officers have the same powers and duties as their full time colleagues. The Garda Reserve raison d’etre should never be lost. It supplements its regular colleagues and should be treated no differently from any other support arm of An Garda Siochana.It has a niche role, particularly a surge capacity and the policing of the night-time economy, and in these it is a beacon for uniformed volunteering.Reserves are people who, rather than sitting in front of their televisions, don a uniform and stab vest and spend their free time supporting law and order in an increasingly hostile and disrespectful society. Yet rather than be hailed as heroes they are at best unsung and at worst, dismissed.Im sure that many reserve members feel that they are treated in a number of various way ranging from valued essential to indifference, or worse, disdain. Most volunteer for camaraderie, excitement, as a preamble to becoming a regular member or to be useful but whatever the reason, they are doing something constructive and not just talking about it. In an ideal world greater recognition and the expanded use of reserves would be be a KPI and also a genuine, fundamental rethink of the organisation itself is required in order to maximise its potential. The Reserve was created in 2005/6 so it has a long way to go in comparasion with the UK model but it is very , very slowly moving in the right direction and perhaps within the near future will become what every single reserve member wants it to be , an effective and supportive accepted Garda Siochana resource which is there to support the regular force. We must all recognise that many of the current reserves are the full time garda officers of tomorrow and when they finally enter the Garda Training College they will be experienced , knowledgable , well rounded individuals who have realistic expectations of their future police careers and this cannot be considered a bad thing for both An Garda Siochana or the Irish public and State

Raider190

3fullback wrote: »

At the end of the day frontline policing is for the youth !

Seriously do you really think this ???
I know of many older members who are as fit as their younger counter parts and also have the benefit of life experience which makes them a far superior garda member.