Gardai leaving the force to practice law

William F

Is this common with the force?

Little CuChulainn

Not common. Not unusual either. Solicitors tend to look down on Gardaí and Gardaí tend to dislike solicitors so finding a practice is probably the hardest part.

Those that do usually start their own practice. Judge Nolan is an ex Garda too but you would be hard pressed to guess he ever saw crime from the other side of the Bench!

William F

Would it be right to say that Cops would have a fair grasp of criminal law and evidence after a couple of years?

I'm just wondering what cops do when they retire.

catastrophy

I know plenty of retired gardai. Some enjoy retirement, some work in part time jobs and some in full time. There is no fixed path.

I do believe a good number under sell themselves and end up taking jobs which ordinarily they may not have considered. But then most don't want the stress or hassle of the job they retired from.

A good number will retire with a good knowledge of criminal law, but don't want a new career, just a job to suppliments their lifestyle.

William F

catastrophy wrote: »

I know plenty of retired gardai. Some enjoy retirement, some work in part time jobs and some in full time. There is no fixed path.

I do believe a good number under sell themselves and end up taking jobs which ordinarily they may not have considered. But then most don't want the stress or hassle of the job they retired from.

A good number will retire with a good knowledge of criminal law, but don't want a new career, just a job to suppliments their lifestyle.

That's interesting. I've met a couple of cops who moved into the security industry as entry level security guards or managers. Underselling themselves for sure.

Little CuChulainn

Depends on their circumstances. a lot of insurance investigators are retired Gardaí.

Pat Mustard

William F wrote: »

Is this common with the force?

I misread this as 'Gardai leaving forced to practice law'. :pac:

It's not very common but it happens alright.

Solicitors who worked as guards tend to retain their Garda contacts, which can be good for referral of criminal work. This can be beneficial when applying for certain law jobs.

Alfasudcrazy

Many Guards study law but most in my view do it to advance their careers within the Gardai. I retired a while back as a Sergeant but could not stomach another day spent in a stuffy courtroom and don't want to shuffle another sheet of paper as long as I live.

I have enjoyed my time relaxing and doing what I like and have applied for a few simple jobs - going for an interview next week for another job but if it does not suit me (pay wise) I won't take it.

I am sure private investigators who were in the Gardai are finding it tough going these days. Many were hired because of their Garda contacts but with more stringent data protection rules simply phoning you ex colleagues for info is no longer as simple as it used to be.