Time to arm all Gardai?

Ouch Chinese Byrne

In my opinion it’s time to arm all Gardai.

Ireland has changed and become lawless in many areas just like the UK.

The Gardai are clearly not getting involved we only a stick and pepper spray on there hip.

Kimbot

Giving them guns is not the solution, look at america ffs. Innocent people been shot, accidental discharges etc. If our force got them it will only end in disaster.

FoxForce5

They can't be trusted with penalty points, never mind a gun ffs

I'd have no problem with trusting the Gardai with firearms. That's not the issue.

The problem is that invariably there comes an arms race between criminal organisations and the police, with the police being required politically to express their greater offensive ability, to justify the greater expense. Which results in greater criticism over "innocents" (who often aren't innocent) being killed/wounded.

I'd prefer we simply went the way of Japan or S.Korea. Similar to our own Gardai system as it stands.. but with harsher sentencing for offenses.

Oh, and OP, Ireland's crime is nothing like the UK. Yet. It might be heading that way in Dublin, but it's nowhere close to it right now.

ancapailldorcha

No.

I think it's wonderful that they're unarmed. It says a lot about how safe a country Ireland is. It'd be sad to lose that tacit acknowledgement for no benefit.

The OP didn't make much of a case for it beyond the sort of truisms one might expect from the Daily Mail.

Pissy Missy

No need for a real gun, but yes one of those taser guns/stun guns/ tranqualiser guns may be helpful

brokenangel

Gardai have guns when required, the answer is never more guns

We need more Gardai and more crack down on serious crimes

people complaining about the lack of Gardai and then complaining about public pay rates on this forum 🤦‍♂️

We need to invest into the Gardai, not strip them to bare bones.

Ham_Sandwich

Gardai should never be armed sure look at what happened in america gards are to heavy handed as it is if they had guns theyd be out shooting first and asking questions later

More Gardaí on the beat will achieve infinitely more than armed Gardaí when it comes to having safer communities.

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541004#Comment_119541004

Like the armed Gardai do at the moment?

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119540806#Comment_119540806

It's actually quite incredible how few innocent people, even just unarmed are shot in America given it's population size, it's crime levels and how common hand guns are.

The great irony is that American police excel in non lethal policing in a violent society but due to people growing up on Cop shows they imagine it's non stop killing. By no means are they perfect but the idea that they are quick to shoot unarmed people is fantastical.

Certainly the police there need more Training but they have mastered that bit.

I voted no in this poll.

thefallingman

Gardai have plenty of guns, didn’t a gang of 12 of them execute a chap in his garden last year. The last thing they need is more guns

MakersMark

Only thing that will lower crime is imprisonment and removal of unlimited free welfare to scumbags.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541040#Comment_119541040

It's actually quite incredible how few innocent people, even just unarmed are shot in America given it's population size, it's crime levels and how common hand guns are.

you must be having a laugh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_by_country#2020s

spaceHopper

Do you want them to shoot scrotes? We need more Gardai and we need them to enforce the laws. Thing is if they arrest an teenager for anti social behavior then they get bail and slap on the writs.

There is noting for teens to do.

If they endup in trouble, we have nowhere to put them or no properly resourced pronation service.

Latvian guy in work was telling me, in Latvia they have loads of swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, football pitches and clubs to keep them occupied. His teenage cousins aren't bothers smoking or drinking as it would get in the way of their sports.

Jequ0n

I don’t know if I trust the average Garda to use a gun without getting it snatched out of their hands ..

Wanderer78

good guys with guns, hooray!

kirving

Tasers for all, yes. Guns for all, no. Although I do think we should have more armed Gardai at large events.

I've never dealt with the Gardai in a criminal sense, and the few interactions I've had with them otherwise have been mostly OK.

But I've also personally seen enough to believe that abuse of power is endemic. It might be at a low level compared to other countries, but it's enough to erode the public's confidence in their intentions and credibility.

TagoMago

Absolutely not, would cause far more problems than it would solve.

Out of interest, where are these "lawless" areas the OP has mentioned?

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541261#Comment_119541261

They also claimed the UK is "lawless". The UK is patently not "lawless".

EOQRTL

I'd put them all on fitness regimes before giving them access to firearms. The amount of over weight Gardai out and about is concerning.

Floppybits

Rather see them armed with the powers to do their jobs with proper back up from the courts with tougher jail sentences especially with juveniles.

Ham_Sandwich

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541047#Comment_119541047

exactly, and if that poor man was white he would still be alive

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541047#Comment_119541047

If by execute, you mean putting down or more accurately, defending themselves against a dangerous individual who had already attacked and injured one innocent person, threatened others, and lunged at said armed Gardai with a weapon of his own after multiple attempts to talk him down, then sure.

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541462#Comment_119541462

Oh please! Skin colour had nothing to do with it - although if you want to go that route, I recall multiple videos of unprovoked intimidation and attacks and other aggressive behaviour from his supporters in the wider Blanchardstown area in the aftermath. They had the same skin colour too.

erlichbachman

Sure what could go wrong 👀

NiceFella

Stronger prison sentencing for violent crimes would go a hell of a lot further to lowering the crime rate than arming the guards.

Having an armed police force is not a detterant to criminality. Look at the US and the UK. Its not even an argument.

All guns do is escalate situations to a more lethal level and chances of innocent deaths go up.

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541561#Comment_119541561

Stronger sentencing, a more visible presence of Gardai on the streets and properly equipping them to do the job such as a proper communication system and more vehicles.

Ouch Chinese Byrne

why is everyone comparing Ireland to the US in relation to Gardai carrying Guns.

Isn’t Ireland the only EU member country where with an unarmed Police force?

blanch152

Justice requires a balance between deterrence and punishment on the one hand and rehabilitation and support on the other hand.

You can never get it exactly right, and over time, in a society the balance will swing from one to the other. At the moment in Ireland, my tentative view would be that the balance has swung too far away from deterrence and punishment. However, I am open to evidence-based arguments that I am wrong on that.

That doesn't mean I support arming Gardai. An armed Garda force is one extra deterrent, stronger sentencing is another. The greater use of electronic tagging in our modern society, i.e. effective house arrest at night for example, would be another. Policy options to strengthen deterrence need to be examined.

Strumms

The price of one SIG Sauer P226.. in the region of 2,400 euros

there are around 14,500 Gardai… so roughly 34 million to equip them all with guns..

Plus…training….initial and recurrent $$$$$$

ballistic vests $$$$$

ammunition $$$$$

it’s probably not practical.

There is what Garda insiders have described as a a ‘chronic shortage’ of armed Gardai in the Dublin Metropolitan Reigon….it’s been described as a ‘crisis’… so from going there to equipping all Gardai with guns and training them ….

‘more’ armed Gardai id be in favour of but arming the lot wouldn’t be practical.

opinionated3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541093#Comment_119541093

I hate this argument. What, because you're bored you have to resort to antisocial behaviour or worse? I grew up in rural Ireland and all we had was our bikes, a Hurley and a football. None of us ended up in any bother with the cops. Because of good parenting mainly, and a healthy respect for authority which our young people don't seem to have these days.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541605#Comment_119541605

What has the EU got to do with it?

We have the same level of armed police as our nearest neighbours, the UK.

erlichbachman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541561#Comment_119541561

The US also has some of the harshest sentencing in the world for violent crimes, and yet still doesn't impact on committal of violent crimes - it seems to be the most common suggestion on boards to have stonger/harsher sentencing, yet this is a perfect thread to highlight the flawed logic that harsher sentencing has any impact other that appeasing some sections of society who understand that arming the police force doesn't work in the US, yet are oblivious to the lack of impact harsher sentencing has in the same country.

Galwayguy35

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541004#Comment_119541004

Heavy handed you say?

We have one of the most tolerant police forces in the world, if the scobes in this country were mouthing off and shoving phones in the faces of cops in a lot of other countries like they do to the Gardai here they would get the **** kicked out of them.

I've been to a few EE countries and the cops are not to be messed with.

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541605#Comment_119541605

We have armed Gardai....we just don't give every Garda a gun

Which I don't remember see police all over Europe walking around with guns!!

We would be better off investing the money into a new jail so we stop letting criminals out early.

Also drug criminals should get twice the jail time they are currently getting. Make it a deterrent

yourdeadwright

no , no thanks

The ones who have them now are enough

Witcher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541575#Comment_119541575

A proper communication system?

What's wrong with the Tetra system in use?

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541856#Comment_119541856

Haven't Gardai been complaining about their communication system for years even saying that they have to use their own mobile phones for communication.

Ouch Chinese Byrne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541706#Comment_119541706

Police in all EU states are armed with handguns

We don’t have armed Gardai.

We have a specialist unit that’s armed. But you knew that already.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541215#Comment_119541215

Don't tase me bro!

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119543122#Comment_119543122

We do have armed Gardai.

pah

Regular uniformed Gardaí are unarmed. The Armed Support unit wear a different type of uniform and are armed. Many plain clothes detectives are also armed.

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058260990/time-to-arm-all-gardai

We’d need a huge overhaul of AGS. I wouldn’t trust the current crop with water pistols. So much corruption, thievery, collusion with drugs gangs within the force as it stands.

Fandymo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541047#Comment_119541047

Sounds like a cool movie, what was it called??

brokenangel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119543122#Comment_119543122

It is called the “Garda armed support unit”

Feisar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119541014#Comment_119541014

My Dad was in the job, retired now. He'd back this up all day long.

buried

What is arming them going to achieve? More of them threatened with lawsuits and counter claims by the free legal aid criminal class that are hoovered up and out, and then in again by the law racket? Get rid of this ridiculous system and the ultra liberal agencies that mollycoddle it. Let the police do their job and allow them to properly deal with any article that thinks that they are a law unto themselves.

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119544262#Comment_119544262

Yep we need an overhaul of the sentencing but as has been said we need a more visible Garda presence on the streets. Can't remember the last time I seen any on the beat, do they still go out on the beat? Was in town last week and walked from Connolly Station up Talbot Street to O'Connell St and back and didn't see one Garda either out walking the street or a Garda car and the Garda station only around the corner. We should be looking at doing what was done in New York in the 80's when they had a cop on every corner, just having a more visible presence would put an end to a lot of the scumbag crap that we see going on.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119544295#Comment_119544295

Totally agree with you F, but we seriously have to consider the fact that the ridiculous mode of sentencing concerning the law racket in this country could well be having the effect of dissuading the numbers of new police we need to join the force in order to have the numbers we need. I sure as Hell wouldn't work in an environment where a vital section of my job was basically p!ssing into the wind all day, everyday.

brokenangel

More guns is never a good idea. End of story.

More Gardai is what we need, more jail spaces as well.