One in three critical of Garda relations

MORE than one-third of people believe community relations with gardaí are at a low ebb, a survey has revealed.

Some 37% of respondents said the relations were poor, while 45% reported that officers were failing to deal with what mattered to people in communities, according to the Garda Public Attitudes Survey published yesterday.

Despite the evidence of a low level of confidence in local Garda relations, 77% reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service provided to their local community.

And 59% of victims who reported a crime said they were satisfied with the response, a 2% decrease on the figure in the same period last year. Victims of crime also felt that they were left without adequate information, with just 54% reporting feeling properly informed in the aftermath.

Some 61% of respondents said they believed the gardaí to be ‘effective in tackling crime’, and just 43% felt they were a ‘world-class police service’.

Public impressions of management also fell short, with just 43% reporting that they believed them to be ‘well managed’. However, 77% of people are either satisfied or very satisfied with the service, and 88% had ‘a mid to high level of trust’ in the force.

Responding to the findings, John Twomey, deputy commissioner in charge of policing and security, said: ‘The continued high levels of trust in the organisation and individual members locally is testament to the work done by our people every day to protect and support communities.

‘However, it is clear from the survey that we must continue to focus on reducing the number of victims of crime and providing crime victims with the right information and supports.’

Amárach, the market research specialists who conducted the research, warned that due to low sample sizes for victims of crime, the margin of error was greater and results should be interpreted carefully.