Do you have to give a Garda your date of birth if asked?

Esel · 04-07-2009 01:31AM #1

I know you are legally obliged to give a Garda your name and address if asked, but what is the position regarding your date of birth?

TheNog · 04-07-2009 05:12AM

The reason why we ask for DOB is cos there are thousands of Sean Murphy's, thousands of Mickey O'Toole's and thousands of John Smith's. Get all of them to move addresses and you have a mess.

DOBs help us to identify you and to get you on your way asap once you are not wanted or known to us.

norrie_1001 · 04-07-2009 04:53PM

esel wrote: »

I know you are legally obliged to give a Garda your name and address if asked, but what is the position regarding your date of birth?

You are exactly right, legally you are only obliged to give name and address. There is no legal obligation to give your date of birth. Not many people know this, but the provo's used to and always put it up to members when asked for their date of birth.

mink_man · 04-07-2009 05:00PM

yes

upthedub · 04-07-2009 05:02PM

esel wrote: »

I know you are legally obliged to give a Garda your name and address if asked, but what is the position regarding your date of birth?

YES...does it make a difference anyway or are you one of these "im not giving it" to you..

pacman.podge · 04-07-2009 05:03PM

but do you only have to tell them anything if they arrest you?? i would have thought that other than that you would not have to tell them anything...... but i donno now ha

DubMedic · 04-07-2009 05:24PM

pacman.podge wrote: »

but do you only have to tell them anything if they arrest you?? i would have thought that other than that you would not have to tell them anything...... but i donno now ha

The only reason AGS will arrest you is because they have reason to do so.

I.e. you have committed an offense witnessed by AGS , or the Gda has reason/evidence to believe you have committed an offense.

Being an As**ole with the Gda won't get you very far in terms of courtesy they will show you.

A Garda will treat you with respect if you treat them with respect, none of this '' you're not getting it , I pay your wages. '' will get you anywhere.

All the Gda is asking is a simple name , address , and d.o.b , if needed.

Joe Bloggs, 123 Fake Street, 1/1/11.
'' Here is some ID to say I am Joe ''.

It's the Gardaí for god sake . There to protect you , in the best interests of you and others safety.

Why can't the public treat AGS with the respect they deserve, they are people like yourselves whether they are in or out of uniform after all.

.

Esel · 05-07-2009 12:54AM

upthedub wrote: »

YES...does it make a difference anyway or are you one of these "im not giving it" to you..

That's odd. The question I asked could not be answered by 'Yes' or 'No'. Anyway, to answer your question: no, I'm not. Now, a question for you.

Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?

Shield · 05-07-2009 01:06AM

Hi esel.

Can you phrase this question to upthedub in different words please? There are many ways it can be taken, and in order to maintain clarity, I'd like it if you could be a bit clearer about the nature of the problem and solution you speak of?

Thanks.

esel wrote: »

That's odd. The question I asked could not be answered by 'Yes' or 'No'. Anyway, to answer your question: no, I'm not. Now, a question for you.

Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?

Mr Jinx · 05-07-2009 01:10AM

esel wrote: »

That's odd. The question I asked could not be answered by 'Yes' or 'No'. Anyway, to answer your question: no, I'm not. Now, a question for you.

Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?

Now a question for you, why wouldn't you give youe name, address and D.O.B when asked, whats the big deal, what have you got to hide ?

Shield · 05-07-2009 01:17AM

Mr Jinx: That's not what esel said, and you cannot infer he has something to hide from something he didn't say.

Take this as a warning: Back off.

Mr Jinx wrote: »

Now a question for you, why wouldn't you give youe name, address and D.O.B when asked, whats the big deal, what have you got to hide ?

Esel · 05-07-2009 01:20AM

I'll try to explain what I meant by my question. The 'problem', as I see it, is the supercilious 'us and them' attitude adopted by many members of AGS when interacting with members of the public. While I have no way of knowing if upthedub is actually a member, I felt that this attitude was apparent in the phrasing of the question to me.

are you one of these "im not giving it" to you..

I would like to point out that I started this thread simply to seek clarification on whether or not there was a requirement to provide one's date of birth if asked for it.

Shield · 05-07-2009 01:23AM

Thanks for clearing that up. Do you feel your question has been answered to your satisfaction somewhere along the line?

esel wrote: »

I'll try to explain what I meant by my question. The 'problem', as I see it, is the supercilious 'us and them' attitude adopted by many members of AGS when interacting with members of the public. While I have no way of knowing if upthedub is actually a member, I felt that this attitude was apparent in the phrasing of the question to me. I would like to point out that I started this thread simply to seek clarification on whether or not there was a requirement to provide one's date of birth if asked for it.

Esel · 05-07-2009 03:03AM

If norrie_1001 is correct above, then yes, thanks.

corban · 05-07-2009 03:08AM

you are not obliged to give your DOB but in many cases if you dont you can be arrested to establish your identity. so its probably easier to do so at the start

noel32 · 05-07-2009 10:00AM

lads ye dont have to give your name and address at all to a garda if he just asks you, there is no legal requirement, he can only ask you can refuse and he can do nothing about it, you only have to give name and address when thre is a requirment within some act of law, eg sec 107 of the road traffic act requires you to give name and address if memebr alleges rta offence to you, if you fail a power of arrest is there, or in the public order act if the member arrives on scene thinks you had some involvement there is a requirement to give name and address when demanded, etc, but you dont have to give it just when they ask off the cuff like,

goldie fish · 05-07-2009 10:17AM

noel32 wrote: »

lads ye dont have to give your name and address at all to a garda if he just asks you, there is no legal requirement, he can only ask you can refuse and he can do nothing about it, you only have to give name and address when thre is a requirment within some act of law, eg sec 107 of the road traffic act requires you to give name and address if memebr alleges rta offence to you, if you fail a power of arrest is there, or in the public order act if the member arrives on scene thinks you had some involvement there is a requirement to give name and address when demanded, etc, but you dont have to give it just when they ask off the cuff like,

For example if member of GS is chattin you up in coppers

Micky Dolenz · 05-07-2009 10:25AM

But surely if a member is not happy as to who you are, you will be held until you identity is known. If I were a member and had some guy that wouldn't give me innocent details I asked for, I would suspect that something was been hidden and the person may be wanted for one thing or another.

It's easier for everyone if co-operation and respect is had.

noel32 · 05-07-2009 10:31AM

true but again twod have to be in an act where they were required to geive the name and address on demand, if a member just asks you for your name and address and they dont give it, well i know i certainley would'nt be arresting them or holding them against there will, gsoc would be banging down the door !!!!

Our man in Havana · 05-07-2009 10:49PM

I have never been asked for my DOB at any checkpoint. But then I has a very unusal name.

You are only legally obliged to give certain information as required under the Road Traffic Act 1961. Can the garda do anything if they refuse to answer things like "where are you going?" etc?

ch252 · 05-07-2009 11:17PM

noel32 wrote: »

true but again twod have to be in an act where they were required to geive the name and address on demand, if a member just asks you for your name and address and they dont give it, well i know i certainley would'nt be arresting them or holding them against there will, gsoc would be banging down the door !!!!

I'm not sure as to the law but when I was working at a certain event in Galway doing first aid cover, a Garda stopped me from transporting a casualty to the medical centre because he wanted his name, date of birth, address and number and refused to let me take him or come with us, so there obviously is a law? He was (indirectly) involved in an altercation btw

DubMedic · 05-07-2009 11:21PM

darragh-k wrote: »

I'm not sure as to the law but when I was working at a certain event in Galway doing first aid cover, a Garda stopped me from transporting a casualty to the medical centre because he wanted his name, date of birth, address and number and refused to let me take him or come with us, so there obviously is a law? He was (indirectly) involved in an altercation btw

He/she has no right to do that afaik.

Unless that pt posed a real threat to you or your colleagues safety, then he must let the patient be treated for his injuries.

Especially if the patient is in an unstable, or potentially unstable state, or has had some sort of head injury.

He/she could have waited because you would have been getting all those details from the patient in anyways, for the patient report form.

.

ch252 · 05-07-2009 11:44PM

dubmedic you are fully correct, the first aider is responsible for the patient, not the Gardai, with the exception mentioned in you post. I knew that at the time but it was only a very minor injury so I let it go because the medical centre was full up as it stood. I didn't want to start an arguement or anything on the street over it either, seemed likee a better idea to wait the couple of minutes than to make a scene I guess. Anybody else ever have this trouble?

TheNog · 06-07-2009 03:27AM

Bond-007 wrote: »

Can the garda do anything if they refuse to answer things like "where are you going?" etc?

No there is nothing we can do if a person refuses to answer general questions such as "Where are you going" or "where are coming from"

darragh-k wrote: »

I'm not sure as to the law but when I was working at a certain event in Galway doing first aid cover, a Garda stopped me from transporting a casualty to the medical centre because he wanted his name, date of birth, address and number and refused to let me take him or come with us, so there obviously is a law? He was (indirectly) involved in an altercation btw

DubMedic wrote: »

He/she has no right to do that afaik..

+1

A Garda would normally have no right to delay medical treatment of a patient except maybe in a case where another life was in danger and only if approval was first sought from a medical professional.

ch252 · 06-07-2009 05:56PM

TheNog wrote: »

+1

A Garda would normally have no right to delay medical treatment of a patient except maybe in a case where another life was in danger and only if approval was first sought from a medical professional.

TheNog, do you know where I could find that in writing? I've only been doing this a short while and I'm still learning (and have alot to learn!) so I'm sure theres more where that rule came from and it might be no harm to read up on it

DrIndy · 07-07-2009 11:03AM

Sorry if I am dragging the thread off topic slightly - but the garda who delayed this was probably younger or just angry because of the situation - most gardai know will escort the patient to the medical centre if they suspect a crime and get details along the way (which is great for clearing any crowd away).

I have only had one incident ever where I have had to put a garda in his place for asking for medical information when a patient expressly refused me permission to do so. Normally when this happens, the fact that my hands are tied are respected and at the same time, I always strongly encourage any patients who were assaulted to have a few brief words with the gardai.

Medics/paramedics and gardai normally have a very good working relationship and you really feel a great sense of teamwork in our differing roles when there is a serious crime being treated/investigated. (they protect us and along the way receive information as they are in the same room)

DubMedic · 07-07-2009 03:09PM

darragh-k wrote: »

dubmedic you are fully correct, the first aider is responsible for the patient, not the Gardai, with the exception mentioned in you post. I knew that at the time but it was only a very minor injury so I let it go because the medical centre was full up as it stood. I didn't want to start an arguement or anything on the street over it either, seemed likee a better idea to wait the couple of minutes than to make a scene I guess.

Your personal safety comes first, then the safety of your crew , and then the safety of patient/other people.

/my End of OT.

.

Dawgslife · 07-07-2009 07:31PM

If a Garda is asking for your details there's prob a good reason. Getting your details means a Garda can follow you up at a later date if necessary. If the Garda has any doubt about your details he may arrest you (assuming he's talking to you for a reason in the first case, except in the case of the Road Traffic Acts where he/she can do it randomly) In the station you'll have to give all your details including date of birth. If the Garda is still not satisfied you'll most likely go to court in custody which may include an overnight stay in a cell if it's after 5pm. (this regularly happens in immigration arrests but can occur for any offence/suspected offence.

Do you think it's a good idea to say "I'm not giving you that"

Our man in Havana · 07-07-2009 07:33PM

Where in statute does it say you have to give DOB in the station?

donvito99 · 07-07-2009 09:32PM

i do not understand peoples atitudes towards this matter.

Give them your date of birth.

Give them your name.

Give them your addres.

Don't make a fuss.

Simple as...

Our man in Havana · 07-07-2009 09:36PM

The fact that it is not enshrined in statute law, people will use it to their advantage to cause mischief.

Do you have to give a Garda your date of birth if asked?

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