Garda Reserve to Full-Time (see Moderator note in post#72)

Mark37 · 01-01-2012 07:52PM #1

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, however i've found some great infor from your comments. The question i want to ask is "as being a Garda Reserve, is there anyway of becoming a full-time member? Do you still have to wait to the Garda Recruitment to start?
Sorry again if its not the right place to post, however all help thank you!!

Loopie · 01-01-2012 08:50PM

Hi there,

There's no special way in for Reserves - they'll have to go through exactly the same process as anyone else looking to join up - aptitudes, interview & report writing, med and physical test. Of course being a reserve is something you can use in interview when talking about some experiences but there's no specific route for reserves.

ZoneAlarm · 01-01-2012 10:46PM

Loopie wrote: »

Hi there,

There's no special way in for Reserves - they'll have to go through exactly the same process as anyone else looking to join up - aptitudes, interview & report writing, med and physical test. Of course being a reserve is something you can use in interview when talking about some experiences but there's no specific route for reserves.

mmm. and you know this how ?? might i ask, as at the moment their is no recruitment for the full time, and nobody knows what is going to happen this year, look what has happened in the Uk, the police specials been in house recruited into the full time police force, so who is to say this wont happen here.

Nothing is impossible !! so never say never.

Loopie · 01-01-2012 10:55PM

zonealarm - you're absolutely right, that's the way it is now, but I'm not speculating about what may or may not happen.

ZoneAlarm · 01-01-2012 11:43PM

Loopie wrote: »

zonealarm - you're absolutely right, that's the way it is now, but I'm not speculating about what may or may not happen.

Must have misinterpreted what you where typing so, as from what i was reading i was taking that reserves will never be in housed recruited.

By the time recruitment starts again for the full timers some Reserve members would have had maybe 8/9 yrs service, ok they might not be up to speed on the paper work and some other stuff, but it would not take much to train them up, as they would be 100% more advanced than new recruits that's for sure.

msg11 · 02-01-2012 01:36PM

Too be honest with me joining the reserves it's for experience. Hopefully I will get into the full time, I know right at this moment in time that joining the reserves with the mind set of getting straight into the full time service, is not a mind set anyone should be in. Should you apply and be declined, it could cause heart break for people.

So really look at your reasons for joining, for me it is for experience, an inside into the job and really looks like something I will enjoy even if I don't get paid for it. Plus there the added benefit for when I apply for the full time that I can say I have experience. Although I don't see it as a divine right for entry.

ZoneAlarm · 02-01-2012 02:12PM

Nothing is a divine right, but on the other hand, it would go a long way to knowing you where appreciated for been a member of AGS, dont ya think, nobody is saying that you will just go in, you would still have to do your training to bring you up to speed.

ghost86 · 02-01-2012 02:44PM

I think that if a reserve member where to goin the full time then surely he/she would not have to sit a medical or go through the background checks again as this would be a waste of time and money.
So reserves would have the upperhand in that respect as opposed to a non reserve person when full time recruitment comes around again.

kerry4sam · 02-01-2012 03:27PM

Mark37 wrote: »

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, however i've found some great infor from your comments. The question i want to ask is "as being a Garda Reserve, is there anyway of becoming a full-time member? Do you still have to wait to the Garda Recruitment to start?
Sorry again if its not the right place to post, however all help thank you!!

Hi Mark37,

This didn't really belong in the thread it was originally posted in and to be fair, I think it deserved a thread of its' own. Let me know if you want the title of the thread changed.

Thanks,
kerry4sam

blueforce · 02-01-2012 08:14PM

Howdy all,

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as a serving reserve who wants to go onto join full time. Theres is nearly 1000 ( I think its actually around 974) serving reserves, plus many many more who are going through the stages of recruitment. I cant really speak for the panel and what will happen to them, but when recruitment does come back, I strongly believe that one of the requirements for entry will be that you will have to have been in the reserve. What I personally thing will happen is that recruitment will be done through an apprentice type scheme. As much training as possible done at local level and through your station, cuts out the need for Templemore really.

ZoneAlarm · 02-01-2012 09:22PM

blueforce wrote: »

Howdy all,

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as a serving reserve who wants to go onto join full time. Theres is nearly 1000 ( I think its actually around 974) serving reserves, plus many many more who are going through the stages of recruitment. I cant really speak for the panel and what will happen to them, but when recruitment does come back, I strongly believe that one of the requirements for entry will be that you will have to have been in the reserve. What I personally thing will happen is that recruitment will be done through an apprentice type scheme. As much training as possible done at local level and through your station, cuts out the need for Templemore really.

Panel has well gone by the way side now, time frame for that would have well expired by now.

footprints · 02-01-2012 09:35PM

When recruitment does start again I dont believe it will consist solely of reserves and it'll be open to everyone providing you meet educational requirements etc,when reserve numbers reach 1300 it'll be too small a pool to pick from in my opinion.Take away serving reserves who are over age limit now,not many admittedly,those who will be by time recruitment starts again and those who Garda management think wouldnt be suitable for full time role..pool of people to pick from would be less than 1300.
Reserve numbers could be at 1300 sometime next year but it'll be a good few years before full time force reaches 13,000 so reserves who are in late 20's or early 30's could be over age limit by time numbers drop to 13,000 and thats only maximum.

blueforce · 02-01-2012 09:51PM

I don't think we'll ever see the sort of recruitment like we had a couple of years ago where there was nearly a new phase going down ever second week!! Id say with the budget cut backs and everything, recruitment will be very slow when it does come back. Maybe 150 going down every 6 months, could be completly wrong but its just what I think. I dont agree with recruiting more reserves as a way of bringing the numbers up either, everyone is getting a raw deal out of it. The public, the full time members and the reserves.

footprints · 02-01-2012 10:33PM

blueforce wrote: »

I don't think we'll ever see the sort of recruitment like we had a couple of years ago where there was nearly a new phase going down ever second week!! Id say with the budget cut backs and everything, recruitment will be very slow when it does come back. Maybe 150 going down every 6 months, could be completly wrong but its just what I think. I dont agree with recruiting more reserves as a way of bringing the numbers up either, everyone is getting a raw deal out of it. The public, the full time members and the reserves.

I agree blueforce reserve or not there's not going to be many opportunities to get into full time,former ESRI economist today said we face ten years of austerity,if thats the case recruitment will be like the dodo!

blueforce · 02-01-2012 11:04PM

They'll have to recruit at some stage in the future. Are you in the reserves footprints?

ZoneAlarm · 02-01-2012 11:27PM

footprints wrote: »

When recruitment does start again I dont believe it will consist solely of reserves and it'll be open to everyone providing you meet educational requirements etc,when reserve numbers reach 1300 it'll be too small a pool to pick from in my opinion.Take away serving reserves who are over age limit now,not many admittedly,those who will be by time recruitment starts again and those who Garda management think wouldnt be suitable for full time role..pool of people to pick from would be less than 1300.
Reserve numbers could be at 1300 sometime next year but it'll be a good few years before full time force reaches 13,000 so reserves who are in late 20's or early 30's could be over age limit by time numbers drop to 13,000 and thats only maximum.

If they did decide to go that route there is plenty to start them off, and as they are still recruiting for reserves cant see the problem, so if they did move them in to full time training, new reserves would be recruited imo.

ghost86 · 03-01-2012 07:44PM

Congradulations to Reserve Deputy Shervin Lalezary whos traffic stop led to the arrest of a suspect in the Hollywood area arson attacks.
This story goes to show, in my opinion, that having a reserve police force is not a waste of time and money as some people in Ireland may think.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Deputy-Arson-Suspect-Arrest-Hollywood-Fires--136587418.html

ZoneAlarm · 04-01-2012 01:03AM

Just goes to show that Reserves are committed over in the usa as they are in Ireland as member's of AGS.

Keep up the good work lads / lassies

hobby bobby · 04-01-2012 11:09PM

Speaking as a member of the Garda reserve for the past couple of years I just want to share my view. Recruitment to the full time should be through the Garda Reserves no exceptions. To suggest that Reserve members are too old or unsuitable for whatever reason is a nonsense. Every Garda reserve reading this knows exactly how tough it is to endure the process of recruiting, to training as a reserve and most of all walking through that door to the public office at the start of a shift and meet your unit. Regular members don't realise that you have already spent 8 hours at your normal job and are ready to step into line for whatever duties await. I am lucky that the majority of my experience with the units has been good. Although you have to know your place and looking for more powers is not my priority. My priority as a reserve is to support the full time members in whatever capacity I can. I joined the Garda reserve while under the age limit and now risk being too old to become a full member. I have had many correspondance with the Minister for Justice trying to unpick his views on the age and recruitment with little success. all I will say to any reserve member is don't lose heart at your age I believe that this will not be an issue by the time recruitment opens. One last thing to all reserves reading this post. When you do become full members, please remember when a reserve walks into the station to make them feel as welcome as possible. The reserve is here to stay people and its going to be the way forward to get into full time policing.

WilcoOut · 05-01-2012 08:33AM

im with ya on that hobby bobby

recruitment in the future for the fulltime should be exclusivly from the reserve ranks

reserve members who show commitment, dedication and a good clean workin record should be brought into the college before anyone else

i feel that giving up your free time to do such a tough job, and doing it well, should prove to managment that a reserve member is dedicated to the uniform and by going that bit extra he/she should earn the right to wear it fulltime

hobby bobby · 05-01-2012 10:18AM

Your view wilc0out is one of many i am sure. There is no better probation for a job than doing that job and doing it for free. It shows commitment on your behalf and gives hands on experience. Most importantly management can see if you are suitable or not. How many full time garda regret going in to the job but are stuck now and feel like they have no option but to stay because they don't know what else to do? Logically, taking reserve police to fill gaps for full time positions is a no brainer and I will eat my hat if this is not the case when the time comes. When full time positions are created in the future and all positions are filled by reserve members it will help for many reasons. Firstly the reserve will be more accepted in the station as every member will know that being a reserve is a means to getting full time and I am sure this is the view of many members at present. Secondly when the public see the Reserve as the only means to get recruited there will be a flood of applications for the reserve. Thirdly the GRA will accept the reserve for its true purpose as a "filter for full time membership" If Public jobs advertised 150 garda positions in the morning they would probably get about 400,000 applications for those few jobs. can you imagine the waste of money, time and resources, filtering down 400,000 applications to 150 suitable canditates. Yet right now we still can't get 1300 reserve members due to lack of interest for the 5-6 years the reserve has been born. To all reserve members with any concerns or questions - let the minister for justice know you are there. Alan Shatter is an excellent Minister who is doing all he can right now in a very difficult position. Send him an email to remind him that you are a reserve member and he has your support and you are waiting for the call up.

footprints · 05-01-2012 01:02PM

im a medical away from becoming a reserve and my main aim is to join full time shock horror!but its important not to put all your eggs in one basket as above poster said you'll have 400,000 for 150 positions-my best mate is a reserve the only reason she's still there is to join full time,imo its a pity because if she doesnt get in she'll be heartbroken.
I believe,my gut feeling, that in the future you will have to be reserve to join full time but that will only apply to future generations of reserves.comparing reserves to specials in uk is light and day they have been around decades and can patrol on their own with more powers afaik..that day will have to come for Reserves before in-house recruitment is considered.also just because UK went down that route doesnt mean we will..I mean we dont copy everything they do- voting system,currency etc.
We might as well compare our police system to that of Canada as much as UK,just because UK is one of our nearest geographical police forces doesnt mean we will imitate their police recruitment policies.

msg11 · 05-01-2012 01:44PM

footprints wrote: »

My best mate is a reserve the only reason she's still there is to join full time,imo its a pity because if she doesnt get in she'll be heartbroken.

Most are joining too get into the full time, just most people are forgetting that you could be refused.

As a matter of interest, if she or anyone who is a reserve is refused for the full time service. Would they just call it a day ? What there plan ?

In house recruitment, is the policy in the company I am in. It works well because if you want to be a manager you have to start at the bottom and move up. There are Regional Area Managers that started out pushing trolleys.

footprints · 05-01-2012 02:40PM

msg11 wrote: »

Most are joining too get into the full time, just most people are forgetting that you could be refused.

As a matter of interest, if she or anyone who is a reserve is refused for the full time service. Would they just call it a day ? What there plan ?

Thats a good point some reserves do forget that they may well be refused and most will be refused because of the lack of recruitment..Yes,if my friend was told she wouldnt get into the full time she'd quit straight away whereas I know of reserves,not personally who aren't far off age limit or above age limit but they will remain in reserves regardless.
Obviously,I dont know till I start,if I pass medical,but Id like to think that id remain in reserves because its helping the community even if I dont get into full time but I could end up having same attitude as my friend.

ZoneAlarm · 05-01-2012 02:55PM

There is nothing in the rule book to say a Reserve Garda cannot be promoted to Garda, no different from been promoted from Garda to Sgt, it’s not in any legislation at the end of the day to say they can’t do that, it’s just the same as any big employer promoting from within the Company structure, and where best to start than someone that has experience of the job, and has been doing it for maybe the last 3 to 6 yrs, I know if I was picking someone best suited it would be in house.

There is nothing also to get the age restriction changed, remember there is no rule that says age is a barrier in promotion from Reserve to Garda from Garda to Sgt, and with the pension structure set to change so might age, also is the retirement age not been pushed up to 70, as people are living longer and are more fitter as well.

footprints · 05-01-2012 03:06PM

ZoneAlarm wrote: »

There is nothing in the rule book to say a Reserve Garda cannot be promoted to Garda, no different from been promoted from Garda to Sgt, it’s not in any legislation at the end of the day to say they can’t do that, it’s just the same as any big employer promoting from within the Company structure, and where best to start than someone that has experience of the job, and has been doing it for maybe the last 3 to 6 yrs, I know if I was picking someone best suited it would be in house.

There is nothing also to get the age restriction changed, remember there is no rule that says age is a barrier in promotion from Reserve to Garda from Garda to Sgt, and with the pension structure set to change so might age, also is the retirement age not been pushed up to 70, as people are living longer and are more fitter as well.

I never said there was anything in rule book to say Reserve garda cant be 'promoted' to full time

,as it stands there is an age barrier for reserve to become full timer along with everyone else -35.

Retirement age isnt been pushed to 70--
http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2011-09-21.1039.0&s=garda+retirement+age#g1040.0.q

ZoneAlarm · 05-01-2012 03:42PM

footprints wrote: »

I never said there was anything in rule book to say Reserve garda cant be 'promoted' to full time ,as it stands there is an age barrier for reserve to become full timer along with everyone else -35.

Retirement age isnt been pushed to 70--
http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2011-09-21.1039.0&s=garda+retirement+age#g1040.0.q

Yes i know about the age restriction, that would not apply to internal promotion, that is what im trying to point out, the age restriction is 55 i think for reserves to join, so promoting within the ranks there is no age restriction that i know of.

I was also speaking about the age limit outside the Garda remit to 70.

footprints · 05-01-2012 03:50PM

ZoneAlarm wrote: »

Yes i know about the age restriction, that would not apply to internal promotion, that is what im trying to point out

Yes,it would still apply because you cant join full time if your over the age of 35...where did you hear or read that if your a Reserve and over age of 35 you can still gain entry to full time?

ZoneAlarm · 05-01-2012 03:58PM

Thats not what i posted is it ?? what i posted is there is nothing written that says people who are Reserve members of AGS cannot be promoted within the rank structure, you show me anywhere where it says a person who is already a member of AGS is subject to age restriction to be promoted within.

footprints · 05-01-2012 04:07PM

The bottom line is a reserve becoming a garda is not regarded as a promotion because he/she will have to apply for the job of Garda Trainee the same as a non garda reserve...if it was in house recruitment it would be regarded as promotion.I have rang Garda HQ in the past and age restriction applies to garda reserve as well,If you dont believe me ring yourself and let us know if you hear different

ZoneAlarm · 05-01-2012 04:19PM

footprints wrote: »

The bottom line is a reserve becoming a garda is not regarded as a promotion because he/she will have to apply for the job of Garda Trainee the same as a non garda reserve...if it was in house recruitment it would be regarded as promotion.I have rang Garda HQ in the past and age restriction applies to garda reserve as well,If you dont believe me ring yourself

Nobody knows what will change with this government, they are out to make a savings and cutting corners no matter what, if they can do in-house recruitment in the uk from specials to Constables, they can do it here no matter what Hq tell you or me, decisions are taken much higher up the food chain.

Garda Reserve to Full-Time (see Moderator note in post#72)

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