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Garda Reserve Experiences

Bradidup

Dose anyone know that if you get in as a reserve are you posted to another part of the city?
I got an e mail from them wondering if i was still interested in an interview. I sent it off two weeks ago. I was told by a cop that the turn over rate is high.

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pat1187

fluffyduffy wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how many Garda Reserves there are at present??
How many do they plan to have???

Thanks!

should be around 170 attested reserves at this time.

paul666

fluffyduffy wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how many Garda Reserves there are at present??
How many do they plan to have???

Thanks!

I think they are looking for around 4000
but im sure that figure would be gettin revised every year

fluffyduffy

Can anyone tell me how many Garda Reserves there are at present??
How many do they plan to have???

Thanks!

pat1187

lehanemore wrote: »

and what about your full time colleagues on the Force, how are relations now a year or two after it was rolled out?

Great, like anything,you have to work to earn respect and therefore gain authority,
It helps a lot when you are assigned to a unit and are trying to get to know a dozen or so people instead of everyone all at the one time.I have only been here since September and have no gripes whatsoever.

lehanemore

pat1187 wrote: »

I suppose it must depend on your age, my friends thought I was a little cracked and work colleagues used to go quiet now and then but eventually seemed to forget and now it's business as usual, Depends on how much you go on about it. I am in my 50's so it will be different than for someone in their 20's etc. overall though not a lot of difference.

and what about your full time colleagues on the Force, how are relations now a year or two after it was rolled out?

pat1187

tucker1971 wrote: »

I just have a question for the people on here who are currently reserves, how did your friends and family react to your decision to become a reserve?
I would be interested in hearing your replies as I have a feeling some of my friends when they hear my intentions will not be too supportive.

I suppose it must depend on your age, my friends thought I was a little cracked and work colleagues used to go quiet now and then but eventually seemed to forget and now it's business as usual, Depends on how much you go on about it. I am in my 50's so it will be different than for someone in their 20's etc. overall though not a lot of difference.

Stereophonic

Directing this to current reservists, are you allow to bring your parts of your uniform home? I know the story with the ID already. What items of uinform are you allow to bring home if you are allowed?

Thanks

tucker1971

I just have a question for the people on here who are currently reserves, how did your friends and family react to your decision to become a reserve?
I would be interested in hearing your replies as I have a feeling some of my friends when they hear my intentions will not be too supportive.

lehanemore

I have relations in the force, I was asked who they were and where they are stationed. But it was nice and informal, the Super asked this, like he just wanted to know if he knew them.

gilly0512

becker wrote: »

hello..
new to this..great thread..as a full time member,it interesting to hear what you have to say..i belive you have a meetin in the smoke this week..hope you get public order act..as you know now its nearly the bread and butter,off our job..i agree with the concept off the reserves,and have worked with a few off ye too..no problems at all..but i find it differcult,as you give your time,etc.. how that you are not getting any travel or sub`s..that some off you`s have to travel from donegal to kerry ,without anything..the €1k wont go far.. think its very short sited..and tight fisted..
anyway good luck to ye..

Becker, always good to hear from a full time member of the force, and even more so when you have good things to say about the reserves. Would you say your views are shared by your colleagues, as while I have always been treated extremely well by my full time colleagues anytime I have worked, I have always wondered as I'm sure others have, are they been so nice to you behind your back? I'm sure public order powers will feature quite strongly at this meeting on Saturday, and hopefully its something we will get down the line, although of course theres the downside then of regular court appearances. Finally as regards the money aspect of it, or should that be lack of it, I suppose the fact that we are all willing to give up our hard earned spare time to do this for nothing, shows how strongly we feel about this whole concept, and of course the honour of wearing a Garda uniform. I have a wife and two girls under 3, work shifts in my own job, yet I would still look forward to been a Garda Reserve on a Saturday night, so either were all mad, or very dedicated to been a Garda Reserve.

donman

thanks lehanemore for getting back to me,very much appreciated.yeah understand what your saying and agree with you but i'm not sure or haven't saw anyone say they have waited as long as i have but i may have overlooked that.i applied for the garda reserve in february 2007 and did my entrance exam in march so quite along time now.thought it would have been a much speedier process than that.so i would like to hear if anyone else is in the same boat or is it just a donegal thing.how are you on in the process.look forward to your reply.

baton charge

geo1212 wrote: »

Hi Baton,

Think most will attend, best thing to do is to log on to AAireland/routeplanner and pop in your start and finish points, it will be the most up to date route, given traffic / road works etc.

I am heading from the meath/louth area if any one wants a lift from that area, I can take up to three, as am collecting one in swords already, I dont mind headin north on m1 for anyone who needs a lift from further up the country.

Geo

Thanks Geo will let my Co pilot know.
As regards been accepted or not, just think what the Ban Gardai went through in the 60's.That was a huge step at the time for the rank at file and now they wouldn't or couldn't do without them.Looking forward to chatting with most of you on Saturday week to share experiences to date.

colliegG

gilly2308 wrote: »

. . . although I must admit personally I do care what my full time colleagues think of me, for at the end of the day you don't want to be giving up your hard earned spare time to work with people who don't like you because of what your doing. Most of us reserves have been pleasantly surprised by the level of goodwill and
co-operation given to us by our fulltime colleagues, for while most of them find it amazing that we would do this for nothing, on the whole I would feel that most of them respect us for it.

I'm not sure if I actually made myself clear there Gilly. I don't mean I have no respect for any Gardai that I might have to work with. I mean obviously I do or I wouldn't be doing this in the first place

It's more the Gardai who wish to use the Reserve as the butt of all their problems. The "ashtray on a motorbike" brigade. I think theirs is a very shortsighted view and does not fully take into account the benefits we present.

Fair enough we may not have the skill levels that a full time Garda would have but then again even if we had, we would have no cause to use them as we are sure to be accompanied.

I don't believe and nor do I think anyone on this thread believes, that our on the job training ends when we finish phase iv. Instead every time we go out we will learn that little bit extra and over time we'll become better suited to our responsibilities. Hearing from the Reserve members on this thread who are already out there shows that, especially when they mention how members attitudes are already changing.

I may not bring the skills of a full time Garda to the job but I bring others that I have learned in my full time job. Having spoken to a member (friend of mine) he seemed to forget that the Public Appointments Service didn't just go out and randomly pick the first couple of hundred people they met. We have all been down a long process to get where we are.

Well that's it really. Honestly I'm quite proud of where I am today and where, hopefully, I'll finish up. I will not and do not believe that any of us should be made to feel ashamed of the genorosity of spirit that drives us. If members wish to hurl around the "Walter Mitty type" gibes or "hobby bobby" etc I for one can ignore it.

I'm motivated more by doing something for my community than seeking approval.

Plus, at the end of the day, it'll look great on the cv

geo1212

baton charge wrote: »

Hi was just wondering are there many attested reserves attending the conference in Dublin on Saturday week? If so what is the quickest route coming from the South east please.

Hi Baton,

Think most will attend, best thing to do is to log on to AAireland/routeplanner and pop in your start and finish points, it will be the most up to date route, given traffic / road works etc.

I am heading from the meath/louth area if any one wants a lift from that area, I can take up to three, as am collecting one in swords already, I dont mind headin north on m1 for anyone who needs a lift from further up the country.

Geo

baton charge

Hi was just wondering are there many attested reserves attending the conference in Dublin on Saturday week? If so what is the quickest route coming from the South east please.

in control

gilly2308 wrote: »

I can't argue with most of what you have said collieg, although I must admit personally I do care what my full time colleagues think of me, for at the end of the day you don't want to be giving up your hard earned spare time to work with people who don't like you because of what your doing. Most of us reserves have been pleasantly surprised by the level of goodwill and
co-operation given to us by our fulltime colleagues, for while most of them find it amazing that we would do this for nothing, on the whole I would feel that most of them respect us for it. The Reserve Force is barely a year old, so as with any new concept there are bound to be teething problems, and there probably is still a sizeable amount of members out there opposed to the concept. However with our hard work, hopefully in years to come reserve members will be seen as a valuable asset to the full time force, and will be widely accepted by ordinary members and management alike. While I feel that at the end of the day we will always be outsiders, it is still incumbent on all of us to the pave the way for present and future reserve members.

Very good thread and i fully agree with what you say . I have been in GR nearly a year now and was the first one in the division so I was a novelty to say the least. Yes there was friction at first and some who just ignored you but if you tough it out it is worth it. Yes it costs me time and money to do it and there were times when I asked myself was it worth the hassle. went to the christmas party with the unit and had great time . Took a lot of slagging from the lads but finally felt welcome. My advice to all is stick it out ,keep your sense of humour and believe you are doing a worthwhile job as well as paving the way for those who come after you.

gilly0512

Having followed this thread since the beginning I can honestly say that I don't care how we are seen by the rest of the force. We are the ones giving freely of our time to (hopefully) benefit society. If some members cannot see the advantages of having another person beside them when they go to perform a difficult arrest then frankly I have very little respect for such short sightedness. Even if the Reserve cannot make the actual arrest the presence of another uniform is bound to help diffuse the situation. How anyone who is trained to talk people down and avoid physical confrontation can moan about that is beyond me. We merely increase the presence of the Gardai on the streets and that has to be a good thing.

Anyway I don't see myself attesting and suddenly becoming some sort of crime fighting superhero. What I do see is me performing what is required of me, to the best of my ability, within the constraints imposed on me. I think if we all did that no members would be in a position to give out.

I can't argue with most of what you have said collieg, although I must admit personally I do care what my full time colleagues think of me, for at the end of the day you don't want to be giving up your hard earned spare time to work with people who don't like you because of what your doing. Most of us reserves have been pleasantly surprised by the level of goodwill and
co-operation given to us by our fulltime colleagues, for while most of them find it amazing that we would do this for nothing, on the whole I would feel that most of them respect us for it. The Reserve Force is barely a year old, so as with any new concept there are bound to be teething problems, and there probably is still a sizeable amount of members out there opposed to the concept. However with our hard work, hopefully in years to come reserve members will be seen as a valuable asset to the full time force, and will be widely accepted by ordinary members and management alike. While I feel that at the end of the day we will always be outsiders, it is still incumbent on all of us to the pave the way for present and future reserve members.

baton charge

I have to say I still get the invariable question "Why are you doing this ?Would you not rather be at home with your family etc". I was told by a full time Garda that they resent our lack of powers insofar as ie.Public order they have to process all the paper work on arrest as our powers are so limited.While we are been accepted I still think there is an air of suspicion with some."How can you be doing this for nothing are there not more worthy causes you could be giving your time to".
Like everything I think it takes time.But having said that I think some Gardai have forgotten why they too joined in the first place. I don't believe everything should centre around money for instance.What about giving for giving sake.

Benny Kerry

Hi lehanemore, thanks for the enquiry. I'm good. My 'real job' is keeping me busy but as I have stated before, the acceptance of the GR will be little by little. It will be down to each person to show that it can work.

Take care out there.

lehanemore

how are you getting on Benny, what are your experiences to date? good or bad?

Benny Kerry

lehanemore wrote: »

I get the feeling that no matter how well thought out it is and implimented, there are always going to be naysayers and moaners.

Given that this is exactly what the full time GS have to listen to, i.e., some people are supportive and some are anything but, does this mean that GR are now accepted into society - that is, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer etc etc, they are now a part of the fabric of our society?

Food for thought.

Be careful out there.

lehanemore

I get the feeling that no matter how well thought out it is and implimented, there are always going to be naysayers and moaners.

[Deleted User]

The idea of the reserves (please correct me if I'm wrong) is basically this:
- do a lot of the minor work which keeps regular Guards from major work, there by freeing up more regular guards for the street
- strength in numbers, more manpower behind the existing guards with less training involved

So in theory it should solve the problem is not enough Guards on the street, at least to an extent, that you are going on about.

Ok, so it's not a perfect idea and maybe more full time guards are required .. but it's certainly a help I reckon.

metman

I personally think its a bit sad that reserves/specials come in on Christmas and New years. I get paid to work Christmas but I'd much rather have the time off to be with my family to be honest. Go in and do it for free? No way.

rooger

cushtac wrote: »

Tell leinsterdude, he called it a second paying job.

My "second paying job" comment refers to those that look on the reserves as as a few bob at the end of the year and are constantly moaning that they have not been paid yet. Believe it or not there are some of us that would do it for nothing and others for whom the gratuity will not even cover the expenses of refs and travel to the stations. Some of us have happily given some of our free time, for no pay, to either our communities or the state for many years without the (dare i say) excitement, thrills and serious responsibility of An Garda.

cushtac

leinsterdude wrote: »

What are you on about I didnt,are you joking???

12 posts back, posted yesterday at 1500.

geo1212

civdef wrote: »

Not really, I'm a member of a voluntary organisation myself, and like the rest of the year I'll be available if something happens, but that doesn't mean you'll find me down at the base on Christmas morning doing paperwork.

Point taken, perhaps I came across a little strong, did'nt mean to offend.

leinsterdude

What are you on about I didnt,are you joking???

cushtac

lehanemore wrote: »

we know.

Tell leinsterdude, he called it a second paying job.

lehanemore

cushtac wrote: »

Why would anyone in their right mind volunteer to come on either day, especially as they're not getting paid?

cushtac wrote: »

They're not paid.

we know.