How bad are the Gardai and what do we do about it?

Tail Docker wrote: »

Some people take a view. Others ram a view. Others still influence mass views. Go figure which is which.

I was responding to piliger stating that I'd made up a cock and bull story and telling him to open his eyes and to cop on

Apologies no offence intended

crockholm wrote: »

IME about 75 % negative.Met far too many of them who thought that their Garda ID was a discount brochure

I think that's where the corruption in the Gardai begins. Lots of people are of the opinion that the Gardai are only corrupt at the very senior management levels but the reality is it is rife throughout the organisation and the use of the Garda ID badge to get free into nightclubs or get free food is where it all begins. Automatically if Gardai are getting freebies from some businesses but not for others well then they have a vested interest to protect (and never raid) nightclubs that let them in for free. People may not think that letting a Garda I to a nightclub for free on their night off does any harm but as with all corruption it starts out small and then expands when it's not nipped in the bud.

Dont call me Shirley wrote: »

Here's my two cents for what we can start to do about Garda corruption.

A) An immediate across the board salary cut of 15% to be reviewed in five years on the basis of improved performance in that period.

A relaxation of Ireland's privacy laws so that Gardai can be filmed and recorded in public places where there is a reasonable belief they may be involved in illegal activity.

C) All allegations of Garda corruption/malpractise to be dealt with in public by a Dail/Seanad subcommittee with the power to dismiss and remove pension privileges.

I like the first idea that could work but in reality we need a system like in the states with IAD internal affairs

A department that has unlimited powers to investigate goings on in the Gardai the obudsman is a toothless dog

Muahahaha wrote: »

I think that's where the corruption in the Gardai begins. Lots of people are of the opinion that the Gardai are only corrupt at the very senior management levels but the reality is it is rife throughout the organisation and the use of the Garda ID badge to get free into nightclubs or get free food is where it all begins. Automatically if Gardai are getting freebies from some businesses but not for others well then they have a vested interest to protect (and never raid) nightclubs that let them in for free. People may not think that letting a Garda I to a nightclub for free on their night off does any harm but as with all corruption it starts out small and then expands when it's not nipped in the bud.

Spot on !!!
I really don't want to be seen as some poster who says "fck da police" just for shyts and giggles-I know Gardai who are professional and courteous and genuinely want to make their communities a better Place.

It just irked the fck outta me when a guard who would be using his ID to get into the club and residents bar one week could be bollocking you the next week over opening hours.

It just smacks of official Ireland,that if one of their members fcks up bad the shutters come down quickly and a "nothing to see here,move along" mentality comes to the fore.

P.S.- I much preferred it when guards stationed in a Town would actually live in that Town-nobody knows the new cops,how can you have an affinity towards them when your only interaction with them is them clearing you out of a pub at 1 a.m. in the morning?

AndonHandon wrote: »

I work in law and have dealt with them on the civil and criminal side. My opinion is that they do an excellent job with the resources they are given.

You will always hear stories of a rude garda or a garda who seemed to take the pIss (posing for a photo with folk on a night out, letting a RTA go for someone charming them) and the inevitable corrupt garda. But when do we hear of them being rewarded for little things like sending a car around to an estate where a dodgy character was reported, helping a drunk person into a taxi for their own good or even giving directions to a lost civilian?

We all need to realise that the GardaI depend on the community for information and support, they don't operate in isolation to us, they maintain the invisible barriers (laws) that we as a society have decided are necessary for all of us to live safe and comfortable lives.

I hope only a few people actually have disdain for the gardai.

You believe their lies too ? I've seen a state solicitor back up lies of guards. I've seen solicitors who are representing people screw people over because they are in well with the guards in question. But I've also seen people fight back.
I know a guy who had to represent himself as no solicitor would dish the dirt on corrupt guards.
And he did represent himself, he put the guards on the stand and he ran rings around them. Guards who again are willing to put their hand on a bible and swear to tell the truth and continue to lie. I'm sorry but in my eyes anyone who does that is simply a scumbag.
The trouble is guard had no evidence to back up his lies, while guy defending himself had plenty. He got banned for 12 years and 10 months in prison for made up traffic offences .
Guards claiming that they stopped him when they never did. He asked guard on stand '' how come you never done me for no tax that day you imaginary stopped me''
Judge had to tell guard to speak up, he mumbled but had no answer . He left court with tail between his legs while all charges were dismissed.

This guy is not finished yet though, he's going to the high court. He will probably end up with huge compensation for unlawfully imprisonment thanks to corrupt guards.
Now the same guards try to provoke a reaction out of him on street, trying to get him to smash their faces.Anything to arrest him and get him for something. Of course I advice him to do his fighting in the courtroom .
This guy is the nicest guy you could meet. He's from London ,but both mom and dad are Irish. He's too smart for carrot crunching guards.

And just the other day I saw it for myself, I witnessed these guards trying to provoke him.
I can't help but lose all respect for guards when I see these things.

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

You believe their lies too ? I've seen a state solicitor back up lies of guards. I've seen solicitors who are representing people screw people over because they are in well with the guards in question. But I've also seen people fight back.
I know a guy who had to represent himself as no solicitor would dish the dirt on corrupt guards.
And he did represent himself, he put the guards on the stand and he ran rings around them. Guards who again are willing to put their hand on a bible and swear to tell the truth and continue to lie. I'm sorry but in my eyes anyone who does that is simply a scumbag.
The trouble is guard had no evidence to back up his lies, while guy defending himself had plenty. He got banned for 12 years and 10 months in prison for made up traffic offences .
Guards claiming that they stopped him when they never did. He asked guard on stand '' how come you never done me for no tax that day you imaginary stopped me''
Judge had to tell guard to speak up, he mumbled but had no answer . He left court with tail between his legs while all charges were dismissed.

This guy is not finished yet though, he's going to the high court. He will probably end up with huge compensation for unlawfully imprisonment thanks to corrupt guards.
Now the same guards try to provoke a reaction out of him on street, trying to get him to smash their faces.Anything to arrest him and get him for something. Of course I advice him to do his fighting in the courtroom .
This guy is the nicest guy you could meet. He's from London ,but both mom and dad are Irish. He's too smart for carrot crunching guards.

And just the other day I saw it for myself, I witnessed these guards trying to provoke him.
I can't help but lose all respect for guards when I see these things.

Same thing happened to a god friend of mine he best guards in court now they consistently pull him over for no reason

Absolute corruption of the highest order

I voted

"There grand"

But seriously, There are

What a lot of people get mixed up is the difference between an garda siochana as an organisation and the every day guard on the street. One is over paid,wasteful and downright corrupt to itts core,the otherr is under paid, stressed to the balls because of previously mentioned waste(of funds and time) and trying to do a difficult job made more difficult by the other. As an organisation it needs to be stripped and built back up and kept out of the hands of those who have made a healthy living from screwing the system them implanted to uit themselves.

Tail Docker wrote: »

I read it. Sounded pretty usual. I have to go in to get forms signed by the gards for work stuff - I dread it, as does everyone else who gets roped in to do it - they make a simple, routine job a pita with their arsey attitude. They also have f.all manners, as it happens. My s.i.l is a gard, btw.

I agree with that, only last week I lost my drivers license. So I rang Finglas station to ask if they had any forms to get a new one. I knew the form has to be stamped by a Garda so it made sense to go down there, fill it out and then get it stamped by producing a passport and evidence of address. So down I go the next morning but low and behold they don't have any forms, despite being told the previous evening that they do. He told me I'd get one on the website but my printer is broke so I needed a physical copy. So he suggested I go to Cabra, Ballymun or Santry station to get one. So I set off for Ballymun, got there, went in but they didn't have any forms and said go to Santry. At Santry the Guard told me that they no longer stock them and that I'd have to go to the NDLS Centre to get one. Down I went there to finally get one and back to the same guy in Santry to get it stamped but he tells me he can't stamp it because I don't live in their district and would have to go back to Finglas to get it stamped. I explained to him the entire story but he wasn't being flexible in the slightest so back to Finglas I go, pretty pissed off at this stage at dealing with bureaucracy. Finally got it stamped there and then had to drive all the way back to Santry again so I could go to the NDLS to apply for a replacement license. Once that was done I drove all the way back to Finglss again to get home.

You'd think it would have been a simple job to get a form stamped but it took me nearly three hours in the end. This was because a) a Garda on the phone told me there was forms in the Finglss station when there wasn't and b) because the Garda at both Finglas and Ballymun didn't know that their stations no longer stock driver license application forms. Their lack of knowledge cost me the best part of three hours going from pillar to post. They could not perform even the most basic of tasks competently.

Dont call me Shirley wrote: »

Here's my two cents for what we can start to do about Garda corruption.

A) An immediate across the board salary cut of 15% to be reviewed in five years on the basis of improved performance in that period.

A relaxation of Ireland's privacy laws so that Gardai can be filmed and recorded in public places where there is a reasonable belief they may be involved in illegal activity.

C) All allegations of Garda corruption/malpractise to be dealt with in public by a Dail/Seanad subcommittee with the power to dismiss and remove pension privileges.

You can film anything you like including Gards in a public area, they might not like it and get arsey with you, threaten to sieze your phone/camera etc but there is no law in place that prevents you from doing it despite what they might tell you.

Piliger wrote: »

We should film the sh1htheads and knackers a lot more. And post them to Youtube and to the Gardai !

Sometimes it can be hard to tell just who are the sh1theads and knackers.

I have found that whenever i have come into contact with them they are grumpy dopes who have a chip on their shoulders.
Anytime i've gone to a station for some form stamp they're extremely unhelpful and rude
Anytime i've been stopped at a checkpoint for car insurance, breathalyzer etc. they make smart arse comments like they're trying to get me to say something. I never disrespect them or stoop to their level, but i guess a young male in a car is not what they like to see
Someone at works daughter once had her bag stolen in Dublin. The guards did nothing but lectured her that she shouldn't have been sitting on the top floor of the bus. Blame the victim, do nothing to the perp

It scares me that the level of corruption exposed was being blatantly ignored. I have no faith that anything will happen to them or anything will change except another stupid committee will be formed