‘POLICING IS A STICKY PLASTER OF SOCIETY’

CHIEF Supt Aidan Glacken has good intentions. He is returning to where it all began for him, his home town of Sligo.

Over his tenure, he says he wants to strengthen the links between the Gardai and the community and even set up a crime prevention Facebook Page for Sligo citizens.

“My intention is to work with my managerial team to work with all sectors of the community. People need to hear and see from the Gardai on a continual basis. I want to hear from various sectors as to how we can provide the best possible service to Sligo,” he says.

The son of a Garda, Aidan remembers living in the Station House in Dromahair with his Dad Frank, mother Eileen and four siblings, before moving to Carraroe where he attended national school and Summerhill College.

Referring to a recent front page story in The Sligo Champion about anti-social behaviour in St. Joseph’s Terrace and criticisms that there is not enough of a Garda presence on the streets, he says: “I welcome the feedback of criticism. I have to look at the allocation of resources across the division. It appears to be adequate but this is something that I will be working to try and improve.”

But, the garda who has risen his way through the ranks from his days as a school leaver in Templemore in 1983 to his current position warns: “Community Policing is not a panacea to all of these problems. Policing is like the sticky plaster of society.”

He has a message to those experiencing anti-social problems: “I would encourage people to work hand in hand with us, to voice their concerns and I can assure people that we will be making every effort to address concerns within the parameters of the law.”

He admits intimidation can put people off saying: “Sometimes that will require people to be very courageous.”

With regard to the local fight against drugs the 53-yearold still has some research to do: “I’ve to look at the criminal landscape here. It will take me a bit of time to get my head around it. We will have to prepare for any changes or threats depending on our assessments and consider redeployment of resources or more specialised officers to tackle problems.”