Overtime time & new high powered cars for rural areas

POGAN

Kevin Doyle
22/09/2015 | 02:30
The Government is to try alleviate the growing disquiet over rural crime with a series of "special burglary initiatives" in the Budget.
Garda management will be told to allocate in excess of €100m for overtime so that officers from larger stations can spend more time patrolling remote areas.
There will also be more investment in high-speed cars, along with assurances that no more rural garda stations face closure.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald will not reopen any of the almost 140 stations that shut in recent years.
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However, the Irish Independent understands that she will announce a package of measures specifically aimed at tackling roaming gangs who have been terrorising parts of the country.

"It is a big issue now. There will be funding in the Budget to help tackle burglary gangs. This isn't about buildings. We need mobile police to deal with mobile gangs," said a source.
It is understood that garda overtime - which fell from €115m in 2008 to less than €50m in recent years - will be a key plank of the plan.
Ms Fitzgerald has already confirmed that at least 500 new gardaí will be recruited next year.
And €1m worth of new high-speed cars will be distributed to garda stations around the country in December.
There will be money in next month's Budget to improve the garda IT system and for renovations at stations that were allowed fall into disrepair during the recession.
The rise in burglaries is now causing serious concern within Fine Gael, particularly from rural backbench TDs.
http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/overtime-plan-to-help-tackle-rural-crime-31547405.html

BaronVon

And €1m worth of new high-speed cars will be distributed to garda stations around the country in December.

I never saw the tender for this, interesting to see the quick turnaround to have them in by December.

Hopefully they get cars that can be driven by people with the driving course done.

The Black Oil

It'd be good to see cars purchased on the basis of operational necessity, not cost.

kub

I would rather anyday to see a Garda out on patrol rather than in a station stamping passports and other minor tasks. What is this fascination in politics and the media about closed Garda stations?

Surely if a Garda station is open to the public between certain times that the member assigned to the public office cannot just run out the door in the event of an incident. I imagine he / she would have to contact the local area patrol car to go to the scene.

Anyway it is good to see rural Ireland are getting decent cars, better than those little Fiestas.

BaronVon

There's a popular misconception in the media/public/government that the guards in these stations sat around in the station twiddling their thumbs waiting for someone to come in to get a stamp crossed.

The guards in these stations were mobile, and they had a State issued mobile phone. They'd generally be out and about doing police work, people could ring them on the mobile, and they could make appointments, call to people's houses etc.

So it's rubbish to say that it created 61,000 extra patrol hours or whatever the number is that's continually quoted. What it did was take local people's garda out of their community, and they lost their regular contact with a guard whom they knew on a first name basis!

kub

Thanks for that Infacteh, i suppose you cannot beat local knowledge which i suppose in a lot of rural locations is now lost.

Granted this is a step in the right direction, but some of these roads in rural Ireland are not suitable for high performance cars driving quickly.

ODEON123

I know they say high performance vehicles but like thats just a fancy word used by the media for hyundai i30's and i40's great cars though but not high performance

POGAN

Remember this 5 series that got trailed with the x5

I think regional road crime cars out in rural areas like the uk

Even tazer armed even


Hope we will see some these soon

kirving

I really hope they aren't referring to i40's when they say high powered. Compared to Fiesta, maybe, but the i40's is not comparable to a 5 series whatsoever.

Mister Jingles

If they want high powered cars then the new Focus 1.5 180 bhp ecoboost is something they should look at. Not any of the 1.6 diesel rubbish.

I giggle to myself every time I see Blanchardstown traffic i40, what are they 115 brake ? A big step down from their old Vectra.

Ever since 06/07 the traffic fleet seems to have gone backwards instead of forward.

ODEON123

Mister Jingles wrote: »

If they want high powered cars then the new Focus 1.5 180 bhp ecoboost is something they should look at. Not any of the 1.6 diesel rubbish.

I giggle to myself every time I see Blanchardstown traffic i40, what are they 115 brake ? A big step down from their old Vectra.

Ever since 06/07 the traffic fleet seems to have gone backwards instead of forward.

Its all about money something mad like 60% of the garda budget is spent on pensions and wages alone

washman3

kub wrote: »

What is this fascination in politics and the media about closed Garda stations?

You have asked and answered the question right there.!!
It's all about 'playing politics'
Fianna Fail can accuse Fine Gael/Labour of closing Garda Stations and likewise FG/LAB can accuse FF of breaking the country thus forcing them into cost-cutting measures like these. Meanwhile all these parties couldn't really give 2 s###es about rural crime as long as they get elected next time.
To prove my point, take a read of that case during the week where the Corcoran family in Tipp were terrorised by a bunch of sewer-rats with 315 convictions between them, the oldest was 24 years of age. One guy aged 22 had 120 previous convictions. Does that thug give a rattling f##k whether a rural Garda station is open or closed. Nip the problem in the bud is the way forward, but of course their buddies in the justice system (sorry justice business) would not be at all happy.:mad:

kub

Justice business is correct, why up set the apple cart?
Banana republic stuff.

Zambia

ODEON123 wrote: »

Its all about money something mad like 60% of the garda budget is spent on pensions and wages alone

Wages are the main regular spend of any force of people.

punisher5112

I hope they actually buy some decent motors like fabia/octavia vRS, focus/mondeo st, seat R, actually anything without a tdi badge ha.... Audi rs, golf R, lots and lots to choose.

But they really need to be looking at vehicles that can actually handle.

kub

I would not get my hopes up as to what cars they will buy, this is a pure political effort so resources will be minimal

Potential-Monke

First they need to sort out the "official drivers" situation. The majority of the force don't have the full course done, just something akin to the driving test (albeit it's 4+ hours, not half an hour).

Until that's sorted, they can bring in all the high powered cars they want, but no good if no one can drive them!

D Trent

Footage of the new unmarked Q5 on trial at Kevin St

Shield

11 off-topic posts deleted. Back on-topic please and thanks.

-Shield.