No faith in gardaí

I read in the media that a civilian lady working in a Garda station in the west of Ireland saw a garda come back from a checkpoint blowing into an alcohol breath tester. She asked him what he was doing and he replied that it was to make the numbers up.

He was doing this, I presume, to justify overtime. This garda, instead of preventing crime, was committing an illegal act on overtime, paid by the hard-pressed taxpayers.

What I would like to know is: who in the force sanctions overtime and who ensures it is worked? I know there are very fine, honest, hard-working men and woman of the highest integrity in An Garda Síochána, but I am afraid the system that prevails in that organisation does not currently allow them to reach their full potential.

As a society, it is essential that we have trust and faith in our gardaí. Unfortunately, in Ireland, this does not prevail at the present time. Noel Peers, Graignamanagh, Co Kilkenny.