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The uselessness of the gardai

2456

Comments

  • #32
    lawrencesummers
    Registered Users Posts: 8,454 ✭✭✭lawrencesummers


    The Gardai are an extension of the governments PR machine.

    If you want action on crime then your best bet is to drum up some negative publicity on it first.


  • #33
    anewme
    Registered Users Posts: 11,853 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    Wanderer2010 wrote: »
    Im wary of anyone who wants to be a Guard. In the same way as someone who wants to look after elderly nursing home residents, care homes, mental hospital patients or home help. Why would you choose to have power over a vulnerable person? The naive part of you might praise their sense of community spirit but another part knows they just want the chance to beat up and abuse someone they know wont fight back because that appeals to their personality. Its certainly not the money or the glamour that would tempt you.
    There was a documentary on rte about prison guards few years back and although the guys were careful to present an image of strict but fair when dealing with prisoners you could see it was a thin veneer and they were itching for a chance to be violent towards anyone who stepped out of line. Something in them wanted to inflict pain. My immediate instinct is not to trust the majority of Guards.

    Being paranoid and judgmental over people’s motives or choice of career is not at all healthy.

    I’ve relatives in a nursing home and the care staff are fantastic, I don’t know how they do it. They are not paid half enough.


  • #34
    kippy
    Registered Users Posts: 18,381 ✭✭✭✭kippy


    Wanderer2010 wrote: »
    Im wary of anyone who wants to be a Guard. In the same way as someone who wants to look after elderly nursing home residents, care homes, mental hospital patients or home help. Why would you choose to have power over a vulnerable person? The naive part of you might praise their sense of community spirit but another part knows they just want the chance to beat up and abuse someone they know wont fight back because that appeals to their personality. Its certainly not the money or the glamour that would tempt you.
    There was a documentary on rte about prison guards few years back and although the guys were careful to present an image of strict but fair when dealing with prisoners you could see it was a thin veneer and they were itching for a chance to be violent towards anyone who stepped out of line. Something in them wanted to inflict pain. My immediate instinct is not to trust the majority of Guards.

    Christ....
    What a mind you have.
    Worrying.


  • #35
    Allinall
    Registered Users Posts: 6,526 ✭✭✭Allinall


    kippy wrote: »
    Christ....
    What a mind you have.
    Worrying.

    Check out the poster’s contribution over in the motors forum.

    If the Gardai change their fleet over to Audis, they’ll never come out from under the bed again. -:)


  • #36
    whisky_galore
    Registered Users Posts: 15,720 ✭✭✭✭whisky_galore


    There are two, and only two, kinds of Garda.
    Great ones and complete arseh*le ones.


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  • #37
    square ball
    Registered Users Posts: 391 ✭✭square ball


    Muppet Man wrote: »
    Probably an unpopular opinion in this thread, but I've had nothing but positive experiences when dealing with Gardai... I've been broken in to twice and they were extremely helpful on both occasions.

    They are hugely under resourced in terms of equipment, IT and headcount, so it does make their job a lot harder.

    Muppet man

    Did they catch the people who broke in and get your stuff back on both occasions?


  • #38
    TheMilkyPirate
    Registered Users Posts: 5,963 ✭✭✭TheMilkyPirate


    square ball wrote: »
    Did they catch the people who broke in and get your stuff back on both occasions?

    Did they f*ck


  • #39
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 2,078 ✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    ReginaldSmythV wrote: »
    We have a staunch loyalist running the show now. It’s an inside job to take down the country.

    He's improved things greatly since he took over.


  • #40
    oldtimeyfella
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 382 ✭✭oldtimeyfella


    I don't blame individual Gardaí for being fairly apathetic in their work.

    It all gets undone in the courts anyway.


  • #41
    baldshin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭baldshin


    While I've seen both the amazing, and downright inept in the Gardai, I think people need to adjust their expectations of them.

    AGS are seriously under resourced in every way. Many stations cover massive areas with sometimes only one car available, so don't expect a speedy response to your noisy neighbours when they're 30km away at a domestic or fatal collision.

    Similarly, understand that a Garda might not seem overly fussed or bothered by the wing mirror being knocked off your car, when they've already pulled a body from a river, or interviewed a sexual assault victim earlier that day.

    Gardai deal with so much every day, that they become numb to lower level crime, because at the end of the day you'll get over it.

    This isn't how the system should be, but it is how it is. Until resources are pumped in, and the whole organisation reformed, including scrapping the deadwood and holding Gardai to task on their performance, nothing will change.

    The entire judicial system needs to be rehauled too. No point having Gardai doing the best job possible, piling hours in to cases only for a judge to make a mockery of it all with sentencing.


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  • #42
    kippy
    Registered Users Posts: 18,381 ✭✭✭✭kippy


    Brilliant post. Sums it all up from my own POV also.


  • #43
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    I'm unsure why I'm bothering but I'll try anyway.

    A, the courts are filled every single day with people on charges of murder, assault, rape, robbery, theft, public order and drugs. Gardai are catching these people.

    B, This isn't TV. Police work takes a lot of hours for even the most basic of crimes. Police files when needed, are long and time consuming.

    C, the Garda at the counter is the one that will investigate the complaint. They will also have to investigate the many other complaints they get that day. Tomorrow they will be in the car responding to more complaints. On day 3 they will be sent to do beat patrol and maybe on day 4 will get a chance to do some investigating, maybe. On the counter, to don't get to do any other work. In the car to can be going from call to call.

    D, that car is probably the only one in the entire area. Sometimes there's not enough Gardai working to even have 2 in the car. If they arrest someone at the start of the shift, that's it. No more car to respond to calls until they are finished and that might be the whole shift.

    E, civil matters. Dunno how that's the fault of the Gardai that yo are trying to make a criminal complaint about something that's civil.

    F, obtaining cctv yourself. Folks, you just killed the case right there. This isn't tv, father brown can't investigate crimes. Continuity of evidence and data protection both at play. A witness can't view CCTV and Gardai just be able to give evidence regarding the seizing of footage.

    G, last week 30 out of 51 water rescue awards given out went to Gardai. They are evidently out there.

    H, O'Connell street in Dublin. There's Gardai but they don't have the numbers to always be everywhere and it's not actually a crime to be a junkie or look like one or generally being a smelly drain on society. This isn't Nazi Germany. That's something up should raise with your local td.

    I, there's corrupt and lazy Gardai. Despite popular opinion usually based on TV and the internet, there's no code of silence. Gardai don't like working with useless Gardai. They are the supposed backup remember. Corruption? Of course Gardai don't want to work with Criminal Gardai who are working with the enemy. Gardai have and continue to be threatened off duty ffs.

    J, Gardai live in the community, work on the community, have family and friends in the community. they raise their children in the same community as you. They are well aware and have an interest in the community. Don't you think they would like to get the scumbags out of the community? Course they would.

    K, training is far from perfect. More and more practical training is being lost and replaced with pr / pc initiatives. Sometimes knowledge is lacking, it's true. Happens to us all I think though from time to time. No one knows everything especially when upskilling / refreshing is Bob existent.

    L, bikes. Store street and pearse street currently have hundreds of recovered bikes in their yards that can't be matched with owners. 'my bike, it's blue' isn't good enough.

    There's other comments that I don't think merit a reply at all but do since research. The Garda budget in comparison to the gdp of the nation is below most countries. The Garda fleet of cars, etc is well below. The manpower not just in pure officer numbers but support staff is way down.

    Hungary, twice size and population, more than four times the police.

    Spain, 10 times the population but 15 times the police numbers including support staff.

    I could go on and on and on. Nypd, met, psni, France...........

    You want a genuine police force? You need 20k Gardai plus another 3k support staff. You need to seriously upgrade stations and cells. Invest heavily in the it systems and Garda cars, bikes and air support. Then plough into training so that there's enough Gardai trained in the systems they are supposed to use. You need to free up Gardai from passports, court, prosecutions and uniform response should actually be response. Separate investigation people because the sap in the uniform can't do everything.

    Oh and very more prisons. Imagine if the criminal caught today couldn't actually commit the same crime tomorrow? The knock on effects would be worth the investment.

    Now, continue on. I'm sure plenty will tell me im wrong because if this and that.

    Edit to add: yeah autocorrect has messed up my comment. 'to' is 'you' and so on....


  • #44
    Muppet Man
    Registered Users Posts: 1,650 ✭✭✭Muppet Man


    square ball wrote: »
    Did they catch the people who broke in and get your stuff back on both occasions?

    On one occasion yes - 1 year old golf gti got stolen from my driveway and recovered about a month later 60 miles away, through good / instinctive policing. I had basically 'written it off' in my head. Couldn't believe it was recovered. Largely undamaged.


  • #45
    Blondini
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,480 ✭✭✭Blondini


    I must say I was amazed recently that there were suddenly 6 gardai available for 12 hours a day to man a checkpoint to wave everyone through anyway.

    At the same time, there's lots of anecdotes regarding unavailability for dealing with vandalism, antisocial behaviour and burglaries.


  • #46
    Mad_maxx
    Registered Users Posts: 13,505 ✭✭✭✭Mad_maxx


    Muppet Man wrote: »
    Probably an unpopular opinion in this thread, but I've had nothing but positive experiences when dealing with Gardai... I've been broken in to twice and they were extremely helpful on both occasions.

    They are hugely under resourced in terms of equipment, IT and headcount, so it does make their job a lot harder.

    Muppet man

    no arm of the state wants a narrative whereby resources are adequate , just remember that


  • #47
    Mad_maxx
    Registered Users Posts: 13,505 ✭✭✭✭Mad_maxx


    whisky_galore wrote: »
    There are two, and only two, kinds of Garda.
    Great ones and complete arseh*le ones.

    both of those are in the minority

    the majority are typical of other civil and public sector workers , time servers out to do no harm or good and collect a good pension


  • #48
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Blondini wrote: »
    I must say I was amazed recently that there were suddenly 6 gardai available for 12 hours a day to man a checkpoint to wave everyone through anyway.

    At the same time, there's lots of anecdotes regarding unavailability for dealing with vandalism, antisocial behaviour and burglaries.

    Yes, they make themselves available when there's a sniff of handy overtime.

    I know 4 members of AGS, folk who went into it for the pension or as their primary/initial career was falling on hard times or they were thick.... Car sales, IT, vandriver & worked in a bookies.

    IT guy was thick and couldn't get decent IT work. Car sales guy was out of work, vandriver fancied the pension and bookies worker fancied it for better wages etc, she was into horses but wages woeful at that.

    Three of them have haven't progressed in their 10/15 years in AGS.... Vandriver lad does plain clothes work but he isn't a detective.


  • #49
    pgj2015
    Registered Users Posts: 8,837 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    Augeo wrote: »
    Yes, they make themselves available when there's a sniff of handy overtime.

    I know 4 members of AGS, folk who went into it for the pension or as their primary/initial career was falling on hard times or they were thick.... Car sales, IT, vandriver & worked in a bookies.

    IT guy was thick and couldn't get decent IT work. Car sales guy was out of work, vandriver fancied the pension and bookies worker fancied it for better wages etc, she was into horses but wages woeful at that.

    Three of them have haven't progressed in their 10/15 years in AGS.... Vandriver lad does plain clothes work but he isn't a detective.


    progressed? some guards like the job of a normal guard and don't want to be a detective or sergeant etc I wouldn't look down on them for that or think they are thick.


  • #50
    pgj2015
    Registered Users Posts: 8,837 ✭✭✭pgj2015


    JeffreyEpspeen wrote: »
    Wing mirror was kicked off car. I went into pub across the road to view their CCTV and went up the street to request CCTV from a Mace. Hard to get an ID on who did it because their faces were obscured. Went to guards to give a statement. Was basically fobbed off by a chubby short lad at the desk and told to come back at an allotted time to give my statement. Came back at allotted time and was told the gob****e who was supposed to take my statement was "down the town" (there was some event going on to add context). Was told he'd ring the number I had left with them. They never bothered their arses ringing. I gave up. I wouldn't mind but I basically did their jobs for them by viewing CCTV at one place, requesting it from another, and letting them know of at least one other place where the lads who did it might be caught on camera pre-obscuring themselves.

    poor quality cctv, why would they be interested in that?

    Another good one is the time I was walking down the street minding my own business and a squad car slowly inched past holding up a huge line of traffic. I could tell the one driving was staring me out of it for some reason so I looked over and gestured to say "what are you looking at?" He motioned to pull his car over awkwardly on a one-way blocking the traffic behind him while I shrugged my shoulders and went about my way before I lost my temper and rose to the provocation. He didn't get out of the car and cross the road to talk to me, which would've taken about 15 seconds, so I presume he was acting the maggot - but acting the maggot isn't a quality that inspires confidence in people in a profession like that.

    bad attitude problem from you here.

    Was also a passenger in a fatal head-on collision where the other car was at fault and voluntarily gave a statement to the guards who interrogated me like I was a seasoned criminal; doing the same with the (traumatised) person who was driving the car. Their interviewing skills apparently on par with their forensic collision investigation at the scene.

    Have also had off duty guards or guards in unmarked vehicles repeatedly pull out dangerously in front of me illegally and without indicating while driving past the guards barracks in town.

    first world problems.

    And then there's the time an unmarked squad car tailgated me for a couple of miles without making any attempt to overtake on a straight stretch of road, while I was driving the speed limit, putting me on edge, before finally flashing and pulling me over - only to make a pathetic excuse about why he pulled me over before ****ing off for himself when he saw that I was insured, taxed, and wasn't in fact drink driving - obviously on one of their fishing expeditions...

    I have been pulled over before, I didnt let it bother me, the guards have to do this sometimes, what makes you special?

    Am I sad about the news story relating to a guard who was shot to death with his own gun recently? Yes. Am I surprised? Going by the bolloxology I've had to deal with in virtually all my interactions with them, no.


    A low blow here on the guard who lost his life to some nutter. im sure you would have handled the situation a lot better.:rolleyes:


  • #51
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    pgj2015 wrote: »
    progressed? some guards like the job of a normal guard and don't want to be a detective or sergeant etc I wouldn't look down on them for that or think they are thick.

    They were thick going in, I'm not thinking they are thick for not progressing.
    Most able folk progress in their careers BTW.


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  • #52
    kippy
    Registered Users Posts: 18,381 ✭✭✭✭kippy


    Augeo wrote: »
    They were thick going in, I'm not thinking they are thick for not progressing.
    Most able folk progress in their careers BTW.

    What do you mean by progress?

    It's a complety nonsense statement if you mean move up the career ladder....as the career ladder is a pyramid with less positions at the top than the bottom. Not everyone can 'progress' even of they wanted to.......especially within certain careers....


  • #53
    kravmaga
    Registered Users Posts: 1,945 ✭✭✭kravmaga


    Blondini wrote: »
    I must say I was amazed recently that there were suddenly 6 gardai available for 12 hours a day to man a checkpoint to wave everyone through anyway.

    At the same time, there's lots of anecdotes regarding unavailability for dealing with vandalism, antisocial behaviour and burglaries.

    Thats because they are on O/T... cash pls


  • #54
    Samuel T. Cogley
    Registered Users Posts: 10,684 ✭✭✭✭Samuel T. Cogley


    Deleted User wrote: »
    He's improved things greatly since he took over.

    He's in the process anyway - making some pretty sweeping changes. Whether he'll be let finish the job...


  • #55
    afro man
    Registered Users Posts: 617 ✭✭✭afro man




  • #56
    Edgware
    Registered Users Posts: 5,875 ✭✭✭Edgware


    Eduard Khil wrote: »
    It's a civil matter is the 100% response to any enquiries for help from them in my experience
    Even when its an ecumenical matter!


  • #57
    Edgware
    Registered Users Posts: 5,875 ✭✭✭Edgware


    afro man wrote: »

    Any more made up stories for us?


  • #58
    afro man
    Registered Users Posts: 617 ✭✭✭afro man


    Edgware wrote: »
    Any more made up stories for us?

    Sorry edgeware were you there when it happened.. sounds crazy but it true unfortunately as fas as I know complaint is being lodged about incident


  • #59
    jackboy
    Registered Users Posts: 4,413 ✭✭✭jackboy


    Edgware wrote: »
    Any more made up stories for us?

    I know someone that happened to. 100% true. Met the wrong guard at the wrong time.


  • #60
    Samsonsmasher
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 610 ✭✭✭Samsonsmasher


    I was flying my helicopter near the Cyberdine HQ when some pig drove his motorbike out through a plate glass window leapt off it midair grabbed onto my chopper headbutted the windshield before turning into a silvery blob that pours in the hole into the front seat and after he reformed said "Get out!" After I jumped clead he flew away! Cheek!


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  • #61
    dxhound2005
    Registered Users Posts: 20,453 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    Augeo wrote: »
    Yes, they make themselves available when there's a sniff of handy overtime.

    I know 4 members of AGS, folk who went into it for the pension or as their primary/initial career was falling on hard times or they were thick.... Car sales, IT, vandriver & worked in a bookies.

    IT guy was thick and couldn't get decent IT work. Car sales guy was out of work, vandriver fancied the pension and bookies worker fancied it for better wages etc, she was into horses but wages woeful at that.

    Three of them have haven't progressed in their 10/15 years in AGS.... Vandriver lad does plain clothes work but he isn't a detective.

    You'd make a good detective.


This discussion has been closed.
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