ARMED AND READY!
THE UNIT WILL PROVIDE ARMED SUPPORT FOR GARDA MEMBERS
AN Armed Support Unit (ASU) of the gardai, which will cover County Wicklow has been set up in Enniscorthy, in County Wexford.
Speaking to this newspaper about the unit Inspector Syl Hipwell said the new unit will have responsibility for the south east region incorporating areas of Counties Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow and Waterford.
Insp Hipwell said officers selected for the unit had to undergo a rigorous 12-week training course.
It’s understood that some of the members are serving gardai already trained for the unit who wished to transfer back to the south east.
In addition to Enniscorthy being centrally located within the region there are existing facilities in Enniscorthy Garda Station station that are ideally suited to the needs of the ASU.
However, Insp Hipwell said upgrading work at the station will be carried out as necessary.
When this newspaper first reported earlier this year that the ASU would be coming to Enniscorthy Insp Hipwell expected it would be towards the end of this year.
However, he welcomed the fact the unit was setting up in Enniscorthy months in advance of the planned date.
‘It’s great that they are here earlier than planned and we are getting two units of three members each to begin with,’ said Insp Hipwell
The Armed Support Unit falls under the Special Tactics and Operations Command (STOC) division which was established in 2017 as a result of recommendations in the 2015 Garda Siochána Inspectorate Report, ‘Changing Policing in Ireland’.
The objective of STOC is to make policing safer by providing specialist firearms and less lethal services for response to spontaneous incidents including 999 calls and pre-planned operations.
In addition to the ASU there are other specialist teams that fall under the STOC including the Emergency Response Unit (ERU); the National Negotiator.
The ASU was based in Dublin and the fact it will now operate for the south east region out of Enniscorthy is a major development for policing in the region.
While initially the ASU unit in Enniscorthy will compose of the two three-member units Insp Hipwell said it’s likely and expected that the number of members in the unit will increase in the coming months.