Chief slams attacks on his officers
GARDA Commissioner Drew Harris last night slammed a spate of attacks on his officers and repeated his support for members to be given body cameras.
He was speaking after talks with the leaders of the four Garda representative bodies – who wanted talks about the spike in assaults and the number of gardai quitting.
Several gardai have been injured on duty since the start of the year – including one officer who suffered serious injuries to his finger in an incident in north Dublin at the weekend.
Mr Harris said: “The safety of gardai is of utmost importance and concern.
“Regrettably, already this year we have seen a number of serious assaults on gardai.
“While all gardai accept policing has its risks, there can never be any excuse for these disgraceful attacks.
MINORITY
“It is not acceptable that a small minority in society feel gardai can be attacked just because they are carrying out their duties.
“The vast majority of the public have great respect for the work that gardai do to keep them safe, their professionalism and dedication, and their empathy, particularly when engaging with the most vulnerable in our society.
“I will continue to ensure we provide gardai with the equipment they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.”
And he told the representative bodies the force would be seeking to procure enhanced and additional safety equipment and provide them with further training.
That is believed to be a reference to body worn cameras.
Commissioner Harris confirmed 109 officers resigned last year along while another 340 had retired.
He added recruitment had dropped in the last two years because of Covid-19 but said the force would this year have 200 new recruits every three months.