An Garda Síochána has recently commenced the roll out of PALF, the competency- based Performance, Accountability and Learning Framework. Paul Franey investigates Young people who are interested in a career in An Garda Síochána often wonder whether or not they have what it takes to become a ‘good’ garda. There are no hard and fast answers to this question […]
As a GRA Wellbeing Survey gets underway, Dr. Finian Fallon examines potential issues that can affect the lives of the Frontline This is the next step in a difficult conversation that we need to have. Since the infamous destruction of the New York Trade Center in 2001, worldwide, there has been a growing appreciation of the impact of Post Traumatic Stress […]
The new Data Protection Regulation Directive will have implications for us all – not least on members of An Garda Síochána writes Darren Martin In May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation Directive and the Law Enforcement Directive come into effect. The Directives deal with how an individual’s personal data is processed, used and disseminated through both private business as […]
As gardaí will know too well, those who commit heinous crimes can often appear the most ordinary writes David Carey We demonise violent criminals, arsonists and paedophiles. We need to turn them into something that is totally unlike us. We cannot fathom the nature of their crimes, some of them depraved and unspeakable (like the one I will outline below). […]
Senator Marie-Louise O’Donnell reflects on the true nature of An Garda Síochána and its unsung heroes and heroines My great grandfather, James Kirwan, was a police man; a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary from the early 20th century until partition in 1922. He served as sergeant in Bohola, went on to serve in Cleggan, became drill master in Dublin, […]
John O’Keeffe examines garda strength at the close of 2017 and advises that we continue to fall way short of the mark As of November 2017, there were 13,381 sworn members of An Garda Síochána, with some 11,000 members at garda rank. Depending on who in government or garda management you choose to believe, our numbers are at best, right […]
While autonomous cars are evolving, what are the future road traffic policing concerns asks Darren Martin The invention of the mechanically propelled vehicle could be argued to have greatly influenced modern societies in any number of ways. When the first motor vehicles came onto our roads they were the preserve of the rich and/or the military. When first established An […]
There is much debate as to what the core challenges facing policing today are. Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay considers the options Criminal justice faces ever more challenges from society. These challenges occur at a time of budget cuts in various police forces. Where official figures show a drop in police recorded crime, the distribution of crime shows a more complex pattern with […]
Few professions create burnout more than that of a police officer writes Finian Fallon – but the frontline too can find their inner Zen Burnout refers a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, which can be caused by too much exposure to stress over a period of time. Burnout occurs in many people who work in different professions. For […]
With the drug drive testing roll out, Robert Block takes a look at the true effectiveness of drug driving enforcement The introduction of legislation to combat drug driving, namely the amendments found in the Road Traffic Act, 2016, is a significant conceptual evolution in how the gardaí tackle driving offences. Whereas the focus had primarily been on alcohol as […]
