The uselessness of the gardai

The_Brood

Can we resurrect this thread? Issue going on for decades and if anything getting worse and worse. There is virtually no police presence, dublin center for example is and ahs been an absolute cesspit for years, and gardai have next initiative to do anything about it.

Absolutely shocking how this gets completely ignored by politicians.

Mod - thread broken out from old thread

Purgative

The_Brood wrote: »

Can we resurrect this thread? Issue going on for decades and if anything getting worse and worse. There is virtually no police presence, dublin center for example is and ahs been an absolute cesspit for years, and gardai have next initiative to do anything about it.

Absolutely shocking how this gets completely ignored by politicians.

Maybe, but why not just start a new thread. FFS its AH there isn't exactly a high bar.


What use is a load of no names comments from 13 years ago?

The_Brood

Purgative wrote: »

Maybe, but why not just start a new thread. FFS its AH there isn't exactly a high bar.


What use is a load of no names comments from 13 years ago?

Think it adds perspective of just timeless this issue seems to be.

JustAThought

Totally agree - the gaurds are totally impotent and disinterested - anything other than a murder (with body) or kinehans level crime ( pipe bombs/beheadings/drive by shootings) and they do not want to know. Its as though they have collectively sat down and decided that they are just not going to do the work & paperwork. An instution that passively refuses to do their job while waddling around in navy uniforms. What minister is looking after this now - its an ongoing shambles. If they are just going to play bodygaurd for crime gangs lets be done with it and charge the Kinehans for their private security firm - they’re certainly providing the rest of us no proper services. Shambles.

French Toast

A 13 year bump. That's gas.

JustAThought

French Toast wrote: »

A 13 year bump. That's gas.

Nothings improved in 13 years. Maybe something needs changing. Like the whole system.

Purgative

The_Brood wrote: »

Think it adds perspective of just timeless this issue seems to be.

Ah shure. I spose you could even cite it as evidence.:rolleyes:

Is this a record for zombie threads?

French Toast

JustAThought wrote: »

Nothings improved in 13 years. Maybe something needs changing. Like the whole system.

Yeah I'd agree in fairness.

Persistent, low-level scummy behaviour shouldn't go unpunished.

riclad

Maybe judges are handing out suspended sentences because we have a small amount of prison cells , if you send someone to prison now
you may be putting them at risk of getting covid 19 .prison sentences may be reserved for people who commit the most serious violent crimes .in the middle of a pandemic theres not much chance of the government
borrowing more money to build a new prison .

Wesser

Fine by me if they get covid!

Cee-Jay-Cee

JustAThought wrote: »

Totally agree - the gaurds are totally impotent and disinterested - anything other than a murder (with body) or kinehans level crime ( pipe bombs/beheadings/drive by shootings) and they do not want to know. Its as though they have collectively sat down and decided that they are just not going to do the work & paperwork. An instution that passively refuses to do their job while waddling around in navy uniforms. What minister is looking after this now - its an ongoing shambles. If they are just going to play bodygaurd for crime gangs lets be done with it and charge the Kinehans for their private security firm - they’re certainly providing the rest of us no proper services. Shambles.

I think part of the problem is the justice system. We have completely clueless judges who have zero grasp on reality and who soak up every sob story the equally inept solicitors and barristers spin them. I can totally understand how guards who worked hard to put their cases together only for a retarded judge to let the defendant off, get totally disillusioned and think what’s the point in doing anything. I think if we had a functioning justice system then the guards would start to care more again.

FGR

Wesser wrote: »

Fine by me if they get covid!

I think it's a matter of time before a prisoner has a successful claim against the state for contracting covid. Heaven forbid their human rights are affected after they've assaulted/robbed or caused worse to someone else that put them in prison to begin with.

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I think part of the problem is the justice system. We have completely clueless judges who have zero grasp on reality and who soak up every sob story the equally inept solicitors and barristers spin them. I can totally understand how guards who worked hard to put their cases together only for a retarded judge to let the defendant off, get totally disillusioned and think what’s the point in doing anything. I think if we had a functioning justice system then the guards would start to care more again.

I wouldn't be surprised if the judiciary are given a friendly reminder every now again about the number of prison spaces available - this, combined with a lax precedent for incarceration, concurrent sentencing and recidivism leads me to believe that a very pro active government would be needed to repair the system. Probably rewrite the lawbook on many offences to eliminate that soft precedent.

Also - it's seen time and time again that Justice rarely is of political importance; it only matters when it comes to accountability but not on the punishment of crimes - otherwise Thornton Hall would have been built long ago. Spike Island and the old Cork Prison would still be open.

Look at how long it's taken for people to even discuss the process of appointing, investigating or complaining a member of the judiciary. A referendum to cut their pay? Crazy.

Funny how it isn't needed when there's a pay rise.

JeffreyEpspeen

Wing mirror was kicked off car. I went into pub across the road to view their CCTV and went up the street to request CCTV from a Mace. Hard to get an ID on who did it because their faces were obscured. Went to guards to give a statement. Was basically fobbed off by a chubby short lad at the desk and told to come back at an allotted time to give my statement. Came back at allotted time and was told the gob****e who was supposed to take my statement was "down the town" (there was some event going on to add context). Was told he'd ring the number I had left with them. They never bothered their arses ringing. I gave up. I wouldn't mind but I basically did their jobs for them by viewing CCTV at one place, requesting it from another, and letting them know of at least one other place where the lads who did it might be caught on camera pre-obscuring themselves.

Another good one is the time I was walking down the street minding my own business and a squad car slowly inched past holding up a huge line of traffic. I could tell the one driving was staring me out of it for some reason so I looked over and gestured to say "what are you looking at?" He motioned to pull his car over awkwardly on a one-way blocking the traffic behind him while I shrugged my shoulders and went about my way before I lost my temper and rose to the provocation. He didn't get out of the car and cross the road to talk to me, which would've taken about 15 seconds, so I presume he was acting the maggot - but acting the maggot isn't a quality that inspires confidence in people in a profession like that.

Was also a passenger in a fatal head-on collision where the other car was at fault and voluntarily gave a statement to the guards who interrogated me like I was a seasoned criminal; doing the same with the (traumatised) person who was driving the car. Their interviewing skills apparently on par with their forensic collision investigation at the scene.

Have also had off duty guards or guards in unmarked vehicles repeatedly pull out dangerously in front of me illegally and without indicating while driving past the guards barracks in town.

And then there's the time an unmarked squad car tailgated me for a couple of miles without making any attempt to overtake on a straight stretch of road, while I was driving the speed limit, putting me on edge, before finally flashing and pulling me over - only to make a pathetic excuse about why he pulled me over before ****ing off for himself when he saw that I was insured, taxed, and wasn't in fact drink driving - obviously on one of their fishing expeditions...

Am I sad about the news story relating to a guard who was shot to death with his own gun recently? Yes. Am I surprised? Going by the bolloxology I've had to deal with in virtually all my interactions with them, no.

coinop

Sadly all major cities have to deal with drug addicts and other undesirables. The problem is that while other cities hide these wasters away in the suburbs or a designated ghetto, Dublin locates its methadone clinics slap bang in the city center so all the junkies travel there (using their free travel pass of course) to get their fix and intimidate ordinary decent people. You won't find drug addicts harassing tourists and office workers around the Louvre in Paris or the Loop in Chicago. They are shunned away to the banlieues and the South Side ghettos respectively, where the Untermenschen can murder and rob each other to their hearts content. Proper order.

Pasteur.

coinop wrote: »

Sadly all major cities have to deal with drug addicts and other undesirables. The problem is that while other cities hide these wasters away in the suburbs or a designated ghetto, Dublin locates its methadone clinics slap bang in the city center so all the junkies travel there (using their free travel pass of course) to get their fix and intimidate ordinary decent people. You won't find drug addicts harassing tourists and office workers around the Louvre in Paris or the Loop in Chicago. They are shunned away to the banlieues and the South Side ghettos respectively, where the Untermenschen can murder and rob each other to their hearts content. Proper order.

Hasn't that approach been shown not to work

Creating ghettoes

Eduard Khil

It's a civil matter is the 100% response to any enquiries for help from them in my experience

Some lads broke in and robbed us at knife point around 3am or so. One housemate managed to call the guards when they came in. Guards arrived like 45 minutes later and then didn't believe us because we had been on a night out. Who the hell prank calls guards into their own homes.

Darc19

Like most civil service departments you will have a large number of lazy wasters who see it as a cushy job for life with great holidays (illness days) and a nice pension.

Then you have the Gung ho types who are just weeks out of templemore and think they have to act like they are on csi.

Then you have the rotten apples who are corrupt in how they deal with things and make up their mind on issues.


My own estimation is that the above groups make up about 20% of the force.


But the worst part is the Blue Glue when they stick to each other even when they know it's wrong - and that permeates around all stations

suicide_circus

Any of my interactions with them can be summed up with two word: unhelpful & disinterested.

DrSerious3

JeffreyEpspeen wrote: »

Wing mirror was kicked off car. I went into pub across the road to view their CCTV and went up the street to request CCTV from a Mace. Hard to get an ID on who did it because their faces were obscured. Went to guards to give a statement. Was basically fobbed off by a chubby short lad at the desk and told to come back at an allotted time to give my statement. Came back at allotted time and was told the gob****e who was supposed to take my statement was "down the town" (there was some event going on to add context). Was told he'd ring the number I had left with them. They never bothered their arses ringing. I gave up. I wouldn't mind but I basically did their jobs for them by viewing CCTV at one place, requesting it from another, and letting them know of at least one other place where the lads who did it might be caught on camera pre-obscuring themselves.

Another good one is the time I was walking down the street minding my own business and a squad car slowly inched past holding up a huge line of traffic. I could tell the one driving was staring me out of it for some reason so I looked over and gestured to say "what are you looking at?" He motioned to pull his car over awkwardly on a one-way blocking the traffic behind him while I shrugged my shoulders and went about my way before I lost my temper and rose to the provocation. He didn't get out of the car and cross the road to talk to me, which would've taken about 15 seconds, so I presume he was acting the maggot - but acting the maggot isn't a quality that inspires confidence in people in a profession like that.

Was also a passenger in a fatal head-on collision where the other car was at fault and voluntarily gave a statement to the guards who interrogated me like I was a seasoned criminal; doing the same with the (traumatised) person who was driving the car. Their interviewing skills apparently on par with their forensic collision investigation at the scene.

Have also had off duty guards or guards in unmarked vehicles repeatedly pull out dangerously in front of me illegally and without indicating while driving past the guards barracks in town.

And then there's the time an unmarked squad car tailgated me for a couple of miles without making any attempt to overtake on a straight stretch of road, while I was driving the speed limit, putting me on edge, before finally flashing and pulling me over - only to make a pathetic excuse about why he pulled me over before ****ing off for himself when he saw that I was insured, taxed, and wasn't in fact drink driving - obviously on one of their fishing expeditions...

Am I sad about the news story relating to a guard who was shot to death with his own gun recently? Yes. Am I surprised? Going by the bolloxology I've had to deal with in virtually all my interactions with them, no.

Near where I live, two expensive boat engines was stolen not so long ago. Like the poster above, CCTV of a white van in the rural area at both the times in question (about 3am) was discovered and was handed into Gardai. After one month and no response, victim requested tape back from Gardai as he had a friend who could blow up video and ascertain number plate. Gardai refused to hand back tape, saying that they were the investigators and would get round to it. Two years later, he has never been contacted since.

crustyjuggler

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Some lads broke in and robbed us at knife point around 3am or so. One housemate managed to call the guards when they came in. Guards arrived like 45 minutes later and then didn't believe us because we had been on a night out. Who the hell prank calls guards into their own homes.

Ah come on now

Muppet Man

Probably an unpopular opinion in this thread, but I've had nothing but positive experiences when dealing with Gardai... I've been broken in to twice and they were extremely helpful on both occasions.

They are hugely under resourced in terms of equipment, IT and headcount, so it does make their job a lot harder.

Muppet man

Graces7

Muppet Man wrote: »

Probably an unpopular opinion in this thread, but I've had nothing but positive experiences when dealing with Gardai... I've been broken in to twice and they were extremely helpful on both occasions.

They are hugely under resourced in terms of equipment, IT and headcount, so it does make their job a lot harder.

Muppet man

Thank you, and I came on to say the same. Not break ins but equally serious situations.
It may be largely the rural/urban divide?

Pkiernan

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Some lads broke in and robbed us at knife point around 3am or so. One housemate managed to call the guards when they came in. Guards arrived like 45 minutes later and then didn't believe us because we had been on a night out. Who the hell prank calls guards into their own homes.

Drug debt?

ElJeffe

coinop wrote: »

Sadly all major cities have to deal with drug addicts and other undesirables. The problem is that while other cities hide these wasters away in the suburbs or a designated ghetto, Dublin locates its methadone clinics slap bang in the city center so all the junkies travel there (using their free travel pass of course) to get their fix and intimidate ordinary decent people. You won't find drug addicts harassing tourists and office workers around the Louvre in Paris or the Loop in Chicago. They are shunned away to the banlieues and the South Side ghettos respectively, where the Untermenschen can murder and rob each other to their hearts content. Proper order.

Ordinary decent people live in the suburbs and "ghetto's" also. Why should they have to deal with the issue?

On the subject of the Gardai i actually parked my car in the car park beside Dundrum Garda station last year and went into a local for a meal with my family. When we came out someone had crashed into the front of my car. It's a paid pub car park so i was thinking possible drunk driver etc...Anywho went into the Gardai station and they went out of their way to not help me out. One Garda actually said to me "if i was sure the damage didn't exist before i parked" Pointed the CCTV in the car park out to them and they said they'd check it out and get back to me.

So started a back and forth with them on the phone and me dropping into them twice over the next month to try and get some answers to no avail. They made me feel like i was wasting their time even though i pointed out i was the victim of criminal damage. Absolute waaters down there anyway and i hope it's not a window into the goings on of the whole force.

crustyjuggler

crustyjuggler wrote: »

Ah come on now

I first told this story in 2011.

Pkiernan wrote: »

Drug debt?

Yeah, from the people who lived there before us.


Most of my interactions with the guards have been good, though. Especially compared to Vietnamese police.

Wanderer2010

Im wary of anyone who wants to be a Guard. In the same way as someone who wants to look after elderly nursing home residents, care homes, mental hospital patients or home help. Why would you choose to have power over a vulnerable person? The naive part of you might praise their sense of community spirit but another part knows they just want the chance to beat up and abuse someone they know wont fight back because that appeals to their personality. Its certainly not the money or the glamour that would tempt you.
There was a documentary on rte about prison guards few years back and although the guys were careful to present an image of strict but fair when dealing with prisoners you could see it was a thin veneer and they were itching for a chance to be violent towards anyone who stepped out of line. Something in them wanted to inflict pain. My immediate instinct is not to trust the majority of Guards.

Wanderer2010

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Im wary of anyone who wants to be a Guard. In the same way as someone who wants to look after elderly nursing home residents, care homes, mental hospital patients or home help. Why would you choose to have power over a vulnerable person? The naive part of you might praise their sense of community spirit but another part knows they just want the chance to beat up and abuse someone they know wont fight back because that appeals to their personality. Its certainly not the money or the glamour that would tempt you.
There was a documentary on rte about prison guards few years back and although the guys were careful to present an image of strict but fair when dealing with prisoners you could see it was a thin veneer and they were itching for a chance to be violent towards anyone who stepped out of line. Something in them wanted to inflict pain. My immediate instinct is not to trust the majority of Guards.

Do you actually believe the majority of people working in care of others do it so they can be abusive? You just don't hear about the vast majority of normal people doing these jobs.

Kraftwerk

I don't know what training Gards get but it's nowhere near enough. Most that I've encountered have given the impression that they don't really know what they're doin and would rather just get away from the situation rather than resolve it.

We have a staunch loyalist running the show now. It’s an inside job to take down the country.

lawrencesummers

The Gardai are an extension of the governments PR machine.

If you want action on crime then your best bet is to drum up some negative publicity on it first.

anewme

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Im wary of anyone who wants to be a Guard. In the same way as someone who wants to look after elderly nursing home residents, care homes, mental hospital patients or home help. Why would you choose to have power over a vulnerable person? The naive part of you might praise their sense of community spirit but another part knows they just want the chance to beat up and abuse someone they know wont fight back because that appeals to their personality. Its certainly not the money or the glamour that would tempt you.
There was a documentary on rte about prison guards few years back and although the guys were careful to present an image of strict but fair when dealing with prisoners you could see it was a thin veneer and they were itching for a chance to be violent towards anyone who stepped out of line. Something in them wanted to inflict pain. My immediate instinct is not to trust the majority of Guards.

Being paranoid and judgmental over people’s motives or choice of career is not at all healthy.

I’ve relatives in a nursing home and the care staff are fantastic, I don’t know how they do it. They are not paid half enough.

kippy

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Im wary of anyone who wants to be a Guard. In the same way as someone who wants to look after elderly nursing home residents, care homes, mental hospital patients or home help. Why would you choose to have power over a vulnerable person? The naive part of you might praise their sense of community spirit but another part knows they just want the chance to beat up and abuse someone they know wont fight back because that appeals to their personality. Its certainly not the money or the glamour that would tempt you.
There was a documentary on rte about prison guards few years back and although the guys were careful to present an image of strict but fair when dealing with prisoners you could see it was a thin veneer and they were itching for a chance to be violent towards anyone who stepped out of line. Something in them wanted to inflict pain. My immediate instinct is not to trust the majority of Guards.

Christ....
What a mind you have.
Worrying.

Allinall

kippy wrote: »

Christ....
What a mind you have.
Worrying.

Check out the poster’s contribution over in the motors forum.

If the Gardai change their fleet over to Audis, they’ll never come out from under the bed again. -:)

whisky_galore

There are two, and only two, kinds of Garda.
Great ones and complete arseh*le ones.

square ball

Muppet Man wrote: »

Probably an unpopular opinion in this thread, but I've had nothing but positive experiences when dealing with Gardai... I've been broken in to twice and they were extremely helpful on both occasions.

They are hugely under resourced in terms of equipment, IT and headcount, so it does make their job a lot harder.

Muppet man

Did they catch the people who broke in and get your stuff back on both occasions?

TheMilkyPirate

square ball wrote: »

Did they catch the people who broke in and get your stuff back on both occasions?

Did they f*ck

ReginaldSmythV

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

We have a staunch loyalist running the show now. It’s an inside job to take down the country.

He's improved things greatly since he took over.

oldtimeyfella

I don't blame individual Gardaí for being fairly apathetic in their work.

It all gets undone in the courts anyway.

baldshin

While I've seen both the amazing, and downright inept in the Gardai, I think people need to adjust their expectations of them.

AGS are seriously under resourced in every way. Many stations cover massive areas with sometimes only one car available, so don't expect a speedy response to your noisy neighbours when they're 30km away at a domestic or fatal collision.

Similarly, understand that a Garda might not seem overly fussed or bothered by the wing mirror being knocked off your car, when they've already pulled a body from a river, or interviewed a sexual assault victim earlier that day.

Gardai deal with so much every day, that they become numb to lower level crime, because at the end of the day you'll get over it.

This isn't how the system should be, but it is how it is. Until resources are pumped in, and the whole organisation reformed, including scrapping the deadwood and holding Gardai to task on their performance, nothing will change.

The entire judicial system needs to be rehauled too. No point having Gardai doing the best job possible, piling hours in to cases only for a judge to make a mockery of it all with sentencing.

kippy

Brilliant post. Sums it all up from my own POV also.

I'm unsure why I'm bothering but I'll try anyway.

A, the courts are filled every single day with people on charges of murder, assault, rape, robbery, theft, public order and drugs. Gardai are catching these people.

B, This isn't TV. Police work takes a lot of hours for even the most basic of crimes. Police files when needed, are long and time consuming.

C, the Garda at the counter is the one that will investigate the complaint. They will also have to investigate the many other complaints they get that day. Tomorrow they will be in the car responding to more complaints. On day 3 they will be sent to do beat patrol and maybe on day 4 will get a chance to do some investigating, maybe. On the counter, to don't get to do any other work. In the car to can be going from call to call.

D, that car is probably the only one in the entire area. Sometimes there's not enough Gardai working to even have 2 in the car. If they arrest someone at the start of the shift, that's it. No more car to respond to calls until they are finished and that might be the whole shift.

E, civil matters. Dunno how that's the fault of the Gardai that yo are trying to make a criminal complaint about something that's civil.

F, obtaining cctv yourself. Folks, you just killed the case right there. This isn't tv, father brown can't investigate crimes. Continuity of evidence and data protection both at play. A witness can't view CCTV and Gardai just be able to give evidence regarding the seizing of footage.

G, last week 30 out of 51 water rescue awards given out went to Gardai. They are evidently out there.

H, O'Connell street in Dublin. There's Gardai but they don't have the numbers to always be everywhere and it's not actually a crime to be a junkie or look like one or generally being a smelly drain on society. This isn't Nazi Germany. That's something up should raise with your local td.

I, there's corrupt and lazy Gardai. Despite popular opinion usually based on TV and the internet, there's no code of silence. Gardai don't like working with useless Gardai. They are the supposed backup remember. Corruption? Of course Gardai don't want to work with Criminal Gardai who are working with the enemy. Gardai have and continue to be threatened off duty ffs.

J, Gardai live in the community, work on the community, have family and friends in the community. they raise their children in the same community as you. They are well aware and have an interest in the community. Don't you think they would like to get the scumbags out of the community? Course they would.

K, training is far from perfect. More and more practical training is being lost and replaced with pr / pc initiatives. Sometimes knowledge is lacking, it's true. Happens to us all I think though from time to time. No one knows everything especially when upskilling / refreshing is Bob existent.

L, bikes. Store street and pearse street currently have hundreds of recovered bikes in their yards that can't be matched with owners. 'my bike, it's blue' isn't good enough.

There's other comments that I don't think merit a reply at all but do since research. The Garda budget in comparison to the gdp of the nation is below most countries. The Garda fleet of cars, etc is well below. The manpower not just in pure officer numbers but support staff is way down.

Hungary, twice size and population, more than four times the police.

Spain, 10 times the population but 15 times the police numbers including support staff.

I could go on and on and on. Nypd, met, psni, France...........

You want a genuine police force? You need 20k Gardai plus another 3k support staff. You need to seriously upgrade stations and cells. Invest heavily in the it systems and Garda cars, bikes and air support. Then plough into training so that there's enough Gardai trained in the systems they are supposed to use. You need to free up Gardai from passports, court, prosecutions and uniform response should actually be response. Separate investigation people because the sap in the uniform can't do everything.

Oh and very more prisons. Imagine if the criminal caught today couldn't actually commit the same crime tomorrow? The knock on effects would be worth the investment.

Now, continue on. I'm sure plenty will tell me im wrong because if this and that.

Edit to add: yeah autocorrect has messed up my comment. 'to' is 'you' and so on....

Muppet Man

square ball wrote: »

Did they catch the people who broke in and get your stuff back on both occasions?

On one occasion yes - 1 year old golf gti got stolen from my driveway and recovered about a month later 60 miles away, through good / instinctive policing. I had basically 'written it off' in my head. Couldn't believe it was recovered. Largely undamaged.

Blondini

I must say I was amazed recently that there were suddenly 6 gardai available for 12 hours a day to man a checkpoint to wave everyone through anyway.

At the same time, there's lots of anecdotes regarding unavailability for dealing with vandalism, antisocial behaviour and burglaries.

Mad_maxx

Muppet Man wrote: »

Probably an unpopular opinion in this thread, but I've had nothing but positive experiences when dealing with Gardai... I've been broken in to twice and they were extremely helpful on both occasions.

They are hugely under resourced in terms of equipment, IT and headcount, so it does make their job a lot harder.

Muppet man

no arm of the state wants a narrative whereby resources are adequate , just remember that

Mad_maxx

whisky_galore wrote: »

There are two, and only two, kinds of Garda.
Great ones and complete arseh*le ones.

both of those are in the minority

the majority are typical of other civil and public sector workers , time servers out to do no harm or good and collect a good pension

Blondini

Blondini wrote: »

I must say I was amazed recently that there were suddenly 6 gardai available for 12 hours a day to man a checkpoint to wave everyone through anyway.

At the same time, there's lots of anecdotes regarding unavailability for dealing with vandalism, antisocial behaviour and burglaries.

Yes, they make themselves available when there's a sniff of handy overtime.

I know 4 members of AGS, folk who went into it for the pension or as their primary/initial career was falling on hard times or they were thick.... Car sales, IT, vandriver & worked in a bookies.

IT guy was thick and couldn't get decent IT work. Car sales guy was out of work, vandriver fancied the pension and bookies worker fancied it for better wages etc, she was into horses but wages woeful at that.

Three of them have haven't progressed in their 10/15 years in AGS.... Vandriver lad does plain clothes work but he isn't a detective.

pgj2015

Augeo wrote: »

Yes, they make themselves available when there's a sniff of handy overtime.

I know 4 members of AGS, folk who went into it for the pension or as their primary/initial career was falling on hard times or they were thick.... Car sales, IT, vandriver & worked in a bookies.

IT guy was thick and couldn't get decent IT work. Car sales guy was out of work, vandriver fancied the pension and bookies worker fancied it for better wages etc, she was into horses but wages woeful at that.

Three of them have haven't progressed in their 10/15 years in AGS.... Vandriver lad does plain clothes work but he isn't a detective.

progressed? some guards like the job of a normal guard and don't want to be a detective or sergeant etc I wouldn't look down on them for that or think they are thick.

pgj2015

JeffreyEpspeen wrote: »

Wing mirror was kicked off car. I went into pub across the road to view their CCTV and went up the street to request CCTV from a Mace. Hard to get an ID on who did it because their faces were obscured. Went to guards to give a statement. Was basically fobbed off by a chubby short lad at the desk and told to come back at an allotted time to give my statement. Came back at allotted time and was told the gob****e who was supposed to take my statement was "down the town" (there was some event going on to add context). Was told he'd ring the number I had left with them. They never bothered their arses ringing. I gave up. I wouldn't mind but I basically did their jobs for them by viewing CCTV at one place, requesting it from another, and letting them know of at least one other place where the lads who did it might be caught on camera pre-obscuring themselves.

poor quality cctv, why would they be interested in that?

Another good one is the time I was walking down the street minding my own business and a squad car slowly inched past holding up a huge line of traffic. I could tell the one driving was staring me out of it for some reason so I looked over and gestured to say "what are you looking at?" He motioned to pull his car over awkwardly on a one-way blocking the traffic behind him while I shrugged my shoulders and went about my way before I lost my temper and rose to the provocation. He didn't get out of the car and cross the road to talk to me, which would've taken about 15 seconds, so I presume he was acting the maggot - but acting the maggot isn't a quality that inspires confidence in people in a profession like that.

bad attitude problem from you here.

Was also a passenger in a fatal head-on collision where the other car was at fault and voluntarily gave a statement to the guards who interrogated me like I was a seasoned criminal; doing the same with the (traumatised) person who was driving the car. Their interviewing skills apparently on par with their forensic collision investigation at the scene.

Have also had off duty guards or guards in unmarked vehicles repeatedly pull out dangerously in front of me illegally and without indicating while driving past the guards barracks in town.

first world problems.

And then there's the time an unmarked squad car tailgated me for a couple of miles without making any attempt to overtake on a straight stretch of road, while I was driving the speed limit, putting me on edge, before finally flashing and pulling me over - only to make a pathetic excuse about why he pulled me over before ****ing off for himself when he saw that I was insured, taxed, and wasn't in fact drink driving - obviously on one of their fishing expeditions...

I have been pulled over before, I didnt let it bother me, the guards have to do this sometimes, what makes you special?

Am I sad about the news story relating to a guard who was shot to death with his own gun recently? Yes. Am I surprised? Going by the bolloxology I've had to deal with in virtually all my interactions with them, no.

A low blow here on the guard who lost his life to some nutter. im sure you would have handled the situation a lot better.:rolleyes:

pgj2015

pgj2015 wrote: »

progressed? some guards like the job of a normal guard and don't want to be a detective or sergeant etc I wouldn't look down on them for that or think they are thick.

They were thick going in, I'm not thinking they are thick for not progressing.
Most able folk progress in their careers BTW.