Garda Síochána

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Garda Síochána na hÉireann
Garda Síochána na hÉireann area
Coverage
Area	Republic of Ireland
Size	70,273 km²
Population	4.2 million
Operations
Formed	1922
HQ	Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin
Officers	13,821
Regions	6
Stations	703
Commissioner	Noel Conroy
Website	Garda Síochána

Garda Síochána na hÉireann (pronounced [ˈgaːrdə ʃiːˈxaːnə nə ˈheːɾʲən]; Irish for "Peace Guard of Ireland", often rendered^[1] as "The Guardians of the Peace of Ireland") is the police force of the Republic of Ireland. The force is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.

Contents 1 Terminology 2 Organisation 3 An unarmed force 4 Vehicles 5 Garda Air Support Unit 6 Sections 7 The Scott Medal 8 History 8.1 Garda Commissioners 9 Allegations against An Garda Síochána 9.1 Sallins train robbery 9.2 Kerry Babies 9.3 Child sexual abuse 9.4 Frank McBrearty and the Morris Tribunal 9.5 Eddie Fullerton 9.6 Abbeylara shooting 9.6.1 The Barr Tribunal Report 9.6.2 Superintendent Joe Shelley 9.7 Prime Time 2004 9.8 Reclaim the streets demonstration 2002 9.9 PIRA collusion 9.10 Gay and lesbian perception 9.11 Transport Section 10 Garda reform initiatives 10.1 Disciplinary constraints 10.2 New procedures; new code of discipline 10.3 Civilian management advisers 10.4 Garda Inspectorate 10.5 Garda Ombudsman Commission 11 Garda Band 12 Garda Reserve 13 Policing abroad 13.1 Sellafield nuclear facility 14 References 15 See also 16 External links

[edit] Terminology

The former English-language name of the force was the Civic Guard; this is no longer used.^[2] In the English of Ireland the force is known (in decreasing order of formality) as An Garda Síochána (An pronounced [ən]); the Garda Síochána; the Garda (in the preceding names, Garda "guard" is a collective noun, like police); the Gardaí ([gaːrdiː]; "guards", plural); or the guards. Police is used infrequently and policeman very rarely.

An individual officer is also called a garda (plural gardaí), or, informally, a guard. A police station is called a Garda station. Garda is also the lowest rank within the force, also used as a title (e.g. "Garda John Murphy", analogous to the British term "constable" or the American officer/deputy/trooper/special agent). "Guard" is the most common form of address used by members of the public speaking to a garda on duty. A female officer was once officially referred to as a bangharda ([banɣaːrdə; "female guard"; plural banghardaí). This term was abolished in 1990,^[3] but is still used colloquially in place of the now gender-neutral garda.

In line with the reform of the old Royal Ulster Constabulary to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Ulster Unionist peer Lord Laird has proposed a change of the name of the force to An Garda Siochana/Hannin Polis.^[4]

[edit] Organisation

The force is headed by the Commissioner. His immediate subordinates are the two Deputy Commissioners, who are in charge respectively of Strategic and Resource Management and Operations. Strategic and Resource Management primarily deals with national organisational and technical matters and does not deal with crime directly, the majority of operational and staffing matters coming under Operations. There are ten Assistant Commissioners: six are geographically based, and the others are assigned to various national support roles. A civilian Director of Finance is placed at a similar organisational level to the Assistant Commissioners.

The six geographical Assistant Commissioners command the six force Regions, currently Dublin Metropolitan, Eastern, Northern, Southern, South-Eastern and Western Regions. Below the Assistant Commissioners are approximately twenty-five Chief Superintendents, who supervise Divisions. Each Division contains a number of Districts, each of which is commanded by a Superintendent, who is assisted by a number of Inspectors. Each District has a number of Subdistricts, which are usually commanded by Sergeants.

Typically each Subdistrict contains only one station. A varying number of Gardaí will be based at each station depending on its importance. Most of these hold the basic rank of Garda, which was referred to as the rank of Guard until 1972 (the equivalent of Constable in British police forces). The most junior members of the force are Students, whose duties vary depending on their training progress and who are often given clerical duties if assigned to a station when not in college.

The force also has approximately 1,000 civilian support staff, including a Chief Medical Officer. These civilian posts include a diverse range of professionals, such as administrative staff, accounting staff, drivers, information technology staff, photographers, researchers and teachers.

[edit] An unarmed force

Uniformed members of An Garda Síochána do not routinely carry firearms. It is a tradition of the service that standard policing should be carried out in both rural and urban areas by uniformed officers equipped only with a wooden truncheon. The force when originally created was armed, but in a u-turn the Provisional Government decided to reverse the decision and reconstitute the force as an unarmed police force, in contrast to the refusal of the British Dublin Castle administration which had refused appeals from the Royal Irish Constabulary that that force be disarmed.^[5]In the words of first Commissioner, Michael Staines, TD, "The Garda Síochána will succeed not by force of arms or numbers, but on their moral authority as servants of the people". According to Garvin such a decision gave the new force a cultural ace: "the taboo on killing unarmed men and women who could not reasonably be seen as spies and informers."^[5]

According to a recent government report, 3,000 (out of 12,000) members of the force are armed — this includes the Emergency Response Unit and Special Branch/Special Detective Unit (SDU) as well as the majority of detectives.

[edit] Vehicles

Garda Síochána patrol cars are mainly white, with two small blue strips and one large luminous yellow strip running down the centre. The Garda badge is also on the patrol cars. It is unknown if Garda patrol cars are identical to civilian vehicles or feature any performance improvements;^{[citation needed]} however, higher performance cars are often bought, such as the Ford Mondeo 2.5 V6. Other models being bought in recent years include Saab 9-3 & Volvo S40.

Undercover cars recently acquired by the Department of Justice for the Gardaí include: Subaru Forester 2.5XT, Ford Mondeo, Toyota Camry 2.2, and the new Opel Vectra.^{[citation needed]} Other such Garda cars being supposedly introduced are the Skoda Octavia rs, and OPC Astra's.

The motorway patrol division of the Traffic Corps owns a Mitsubishi Evo and has agreed to purchase three BMW 5 Series to patrol the M1, M4 and M7 motorways.

[edit] Garda Air Support Unit

The Gardai Air Support Unit currently consists of a total of three aircraft, which are maintained and flown by the Irish Air Corps, based at Casement Aerodrome near Dublin. The unit was formed in 1997 with the delivery of a fixed wing Pilatus Britten-Norman BN 2T-4S Defender 4000 aircraft and a Eurocopter AS355N Squirrel Helicopter. In 2001 the GASU fleet was further increased by the addition of a second helicopter, an EC 135 T1. The Eurocopter AS355N Squirrel is due to be replaced by a second EC 135 T1 soon.

[edit] Sections

• Criminal Assets Bureau
• Special Detective Unit
• Water Unit
• Dog Unit
• Garda Air Support Unit
• National Bureau of Criminal Investigation
• National Immigration Bureau
• Bureau of Fraud Investigation
• Public Order Unit
• Emergency Response Unit
• Garda Technical Bureau

[edit] The Scott Medal

The Scott Medal for Bravery is the highest honour for bravery and valour which can be awarded to a member of the Garda Síochána. The first medals were funded by Colonel Walter Scott, an honorary Commissioner of the New York Police Department. The first recipient of the Scott Medal was Pat Malone of St. Luke's Cork City who as an unarmed Garda, disarmed Tomás Óg, the son of Tomás Mac Curtain.

To mark the United States link, the American English spelling of valor is used on the medal. The Commissioner of An Garda Síochána chooses the recipients of the medal, which is presented by the Minister for Justice.

In 2000, Anne McCabe - widow of Garda Jerry McCabe, who was killed by the Provisional IRA while it was officially on ceasefire - accepted the Scott Medal for Bravery that had been awarded posthumously to her husband.^[6]

[edit] History

The Civic Guard was formed by the Provisional Government in February 1922 to take over the responsibility of policing the fledgling Irish Free State. It replaced the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Irish Republican Police. In August 1922 the force accompanied Michael Collins when he met the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin Castle.^[7]

The Garda Síochána Act (also known as the Temporary Provisions Act) enacted after the creation of the Irish Free State on the 8 August 1923,^[8] provided for the creation of "a force of police to be called and known as 'The Garda Síochána'". Under section 22, The Civic Guard were deemed to have been established under and to be governed by the Act. The law therefore effectively renamed the existing force.

In Dublin, policing remained the responsibility of the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP, founded 1836) until it merged with the Garda Síochána in 1925. Since then the Garda has been the only police force in the state now known as the Republic of Ireland, with the exception of the Military Police within the Irish Defence Forces.

[edit] Garda Commissioners

Garda Commissioners

Name	From	Until	Reason
Michael Staines	Feb 1922	Sept 1922	resigned
Eoin O'Duffy	Sept 1922	Feb 1933	dismissed
Eamon Broy	Feb 1933	June 1938	retired
Michael Kinnane	June 1938	July 1952	died
Daniel Costigan	Jul 1952	Feb 1965	resigned
William P Quinn	Feb 1965	Mar 1967	retired
Patrick Carroll	Mar 1967	Sept 1968	retired
Michael Wymes	Sept 1968	Jan 1973	retired
Patick Malone	Jan 1973	Sept 1975	retired
Edmund Garvey	Sept 1975	Jan 1978	replaced unfair dismissal
Patrick McLoughlin	Jan 1978	Jan 1983	retired wiretap scandal
Lawrence Wren	Feb 1983	Nov 1987	retired
Eamonn Doherty	Nov 1987	Dec 1988	retired
Eugene Crowley	Dec 1988	Jan 1991	retired
Patrick Culligan	Jan 1991	Jul 1996	retired
Patrick Byrne	Jul 1996	Jul 2003	retired
Noel Conroy	Jul 2003	Present	current

The first Commissioner, Michael Staines, who was a Pro-Treaty member of Dáil Éireann, held office for only eight months. It was his successors, Eoin O'Duffy and Éamon Broy, who played a central role in the development of the force. O’Duffy was Commissioner in the early years of the force when to many people’s surprise the viability of an unarmed police force was established. O'Duffy later became a short-lived political leader of the quasi-fascist Blueshirts before heading to Spain to fight alongside Francisco Franco's Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. Broy had greatly assisted the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Anglo-Irish War, while serving with the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP). Broy's fame grew in the 1990s when he featured in the film Michael Collins, in which it was misleadingly suggested that he had been murdered by the British during the War of Independence, when in reality he lived for decades and headed the Garda Síochána from 1933 to 1938.

One later Commissioner, Edmund Garvey was sacked by the Fianna Fáil government of Jack Lynch in 1978 without reason, other than a claim that the government had lost confidence in him. He won 'unfair dismissal' legal proceedings against the government. The case made its way to the Supreme Court which found the action of the government improper. This outcome required the passing of the Garda Síochána Act, 1979 to retrospectively validate the actions of Garvey's successor since he had become Commissioner.^[9] His successor in turn, Patrick McLoughlin, was forced to resign along with his deputy in 1983 over his peripheral involvement in a political scandal. The current commissioner is Noel Conroy.

[edit] Allegations against An Garda Síochána

Traditionally the perception of the force within Ireland has been positive, especially when compared to the Royal Ulster Constabulary; however several scandals have undermined it.

Like most police forces there have been many allegations of discourtesy, harassment, confiscating a person's property but using it for their own purposes, aggressive interrogation techniques, perjury, etc.^[10]

While most allegations have not been proven, many out-of-court settlements have been made in favour of complainants. A total of 1,173 complaints were made by the public against the Gardaí in 2005.^[11]

[edit] Sallins train robbery

One of the first charges of serious impropriety against the force rose out of the handling of the Sallins Train Robbery (March 1976); this case eventually lead to a serious miscarriage of justice and accusations of a "Heavy Gang" operating within the force which intimidated and tortured the accused. This eventually led to a Presidential pardon for one of the accused.

[edit] Kerry Babies

Several less high profile scandals, for instance the Kerry Babies Tribunal, occurred over the next decade or so which further tarnished the force's reputation.

[edit] Child sexual abuse

The Ferns Report describes as 'wholly inadequate' the handling of one of eight formal complaints made to Wexford gardaí but considers that the remaining formal complaints were handled in an effective, professional and sensitive manner.^[12]

[edit] Frank McBrearty and the Morris Tribunal

Main article: Morris Tribunal

In the 1990s and early 2000s An Garda Síochána faced a series of allegations, including suggestions of corrupt and dishonest policing in County Donegal (which is the subject of a judicial inquiry, the Morris Tribunal). The tribunal found that some County Donegal gardaí had invented an Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) informer, made bombs and claimed credit for locating them, and attempted to frame Raphoe publican Frank McBrearty Junior for murder — the latter case was recently settled in a €1.5m settlement with the State.

The Morris Tribunal stated in May 2006 in a report to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform expressed grave concern about "organised insubordination" within the force that "proper discipline has been lost from An Garda Síochána", suggesting that a few mischief-makers have abused their positions within the Garda and used the disciplinary process to damage the force.

The tribunal also expressed concern that recruits are brought into an undisciplined culture that has the potential to do great damage to them in the longer term, and warned that a "terrible and costly" waste of talent will occur if the situation continues.

[edit] Eddie Fullerton

The family of Eddie Fullerton, a Buncrana Sinn Féin councillor killed in his home by members of the Ulster Defence Association in 1991, have criticised the Gardaí's handling of the investigation and in 2005 they started a campaign for an inquiry.

[edit] Abbeylara shooting

Main article: John Carthy

On April 20, 2000, members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit shot dead, from behind, 27-year-old John Carthy at the end of a 25-hour siege as he left his home in Toneymore, Abbeylara, County Longford. Four bullets were fired; two by Garda McCabe and two by Sgt Jackson.

There were allegations made of inappropriate handling of the situation and of the overuse of armed force by the Gardaí; a "shoot to kill" policy. This led to a Garda inquiry.

Subsequently, a Tribunal of Inquiry, the Barr Tribunal under the Chairmanship of Mr Justice Robert Barr, into the facts and circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting was established on July 1, 2002. The hearing of evidence was completed on December 7, 2004. It was expected to report its findings within six months of this date but publication of its Report was delayed until July 20, 2006.

[edit] The Barr Tribunal Report

Main article: Barr Tribunal

The official findings of the Barr Tribunal were that Sgt Michael Jackson made 14 mistakes in his role as negotiator during the siege, and that he failed to make real efforts to achieve resolution during the armed stand-off. It further stated however that Sgt Jackson was limited by lack of experience and resources (psychologists, solicitors, dogs).

The tribunal recommended that there be an urgent review of Garda command structures, and that the ERU be equipped with stun guns and other non-lethal options, including "non-compliant firearms support police dogs". (Non-compliant dogs are 'attack' dogs who will bite or bring a person to the ground on command.)

The tribunal further recommended a formal working arrangement between Gardaí and State psychologists, and improvements in Garda training (especially in the context of ERU in siege situations, including those with mental illness as a factor). This included a recommendation that local Garda superintendents undergo refresher training for one week every year as scene commanders and a similar refresher course for ERU officers of the rank of inspector or superintendent. Garda Commissioner Conroy, in a letter to the family of John Carthy, stated that the force was 'truly apologetic' for his death.^[13]

[edit] Superintendent Joe Shelley

Former Superintendent Joe Shelley, whose failure to interview John Carthy was cited in The Barr Tribunal Report as "extraordinary", and who was also severely criticised in the Report of the Morris Tribunal into the controversial death of Richie Barron, was awarded a top-up bonus of €110,000 when he took early retirement in July 2005. Mr Justice Morris described Shelleys probe as "prejudiced, tendentious, utterly negligent in the highest degree".^[14] However Garda pensions are private pensions paid into by Gardaí and not handed out freely by the state. As such all Gardaí are entitled to their pensions under the same conditions as any worker who pays into a private fund, without undue interference from the state.

[edit] Prime Time 2004

In 2004, an RTÉ Prime Time documentary accused elements within the Garda of abusing their powers by physically assaulting people arrested. A retired Circuit Court judge (W. A. Murphy) suggested that some members of the force had committed perjury in criminal trials before him but later stated that he was misquoted, while a Minister of State (Dick Roche) (junior government minister) accused Gardaí in one instance of "torture". The Garda Commissioner accused the television programme of lacking balance.

[edit] Reclaim the streets demonstration 2002

The Prime Time documentary followed hot on the heels of footage published by the Independent Media Centre Ireland showing battles between Gardaí and Reclaim the Streets demonstrators.^[15] One Garda shown in this footage was later convicted of common assault which is a summary matter, while several other Gardaí were acquitted of all offenses.

[edit] PIRA collusion

The Smithwick Tribunal is investigating allegations of collusion following the deaths of two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army as they returned from a meeting with the Gardaí in the Republic of Ireland following a recommendation from the Cory Collusion Inquiry.

[edit] Gay and lesbian perception

A report released in July 2006 by gay rights organisation Johnny found that 86% of people who frequent gay and lesbian establishments feel that the Gardaí are not doing enough to tackle reported homophobic crime in Ireland. Further, 80% of those surveyed as part of the report and who suffered a hate attack did not report the crime to the Gardaí. The main reasons cited for not reporting the attack were the fear of a homophobic response, felt no action would be taken, difficulty talking to the Gardaí and fear of being judged, previous reports of attacks were not followed up, previous reports were laughed at or greeted with total indifference, didn't feel the police would do anything about it or be sensitive to the rights of members of the LGBT community. 36% of victims did not report their attack because they had zero confidence in the Gardaí while 30% were not aware of the availability of gay and lesbian liaison officers. The report concluded that all Gardaí should be sent for training in anti-homophobia and hetrosexism training.^[16]

[edit] Transport Section

On 11 February 2001, a newspaper report alleged that senior members of the Transport Section of the Garda Síochána involved in the purchasing of tyres for the Garda fleet had been entertained on recreational trips abroad, paid for by Advance Pitstop.^[17]

[edit] Garda reform initiatives

“

The Tribunal has been staggered by the amount of indiscipline and insubordination it has found in the Garda force. There is a small, but disproportionately influential, core of mischief-making members who will not obey orders, who will not follow procedures, who will not tell the truth and who have no respect for their officers Mr Justice Frederick Morris, Chairman and Sole Member of The Morris Tribunal[18]

”

Mr Justice Morris also stated that the existing code of discipline was extremely complex and, at times, is cynically manipulated to promote indiscipline right across the force. Judicial reviews, for example, have been used to delay disciplinary action. The Garda Siochana Act 2005 is the vehicle which has been put in place to facilitate change and the inspiration for many of its provisions arise from the fall out from the events in Donegal and elsewhere.

[edit] Disciplinary constraints

Fifteen members of the force have been sacked between 2001 and 2006. A further 42 have resigned in lieu of dismissal in the same period. Commissioner Conroy stated that he is still constrained in the responses available to him to deal with members whose misbehaviour is cited in public inquiries.^[19]

[edit] New procedures; new code of discipline

The Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform responded on August 17, 2006 by announcing a new draft code of discipline for gardaí with strong support from Opposition parties reflecting widespread political consensus. The new code is much more streamlined than the current code.^[20] New procedures has been introduced to enable the Commissioner to summarily dismiss a garda who is alleged to have brought the force into disrepute, abandoned duties, who compromises the security of the State or unjustifiably infringes the rights of other persons. The new code is to be brought before the Garda Conciliation and Arbitration Council and is anticipated to be operational within a few months. A whistleblowers charter is to be introduced also. Other complementary initiatives include:

[edit] Civilian management advisers

The Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform appointed four member of this advisory team on August 2, 2006 to advise on implementing change options and addressing management and leadership challenges facing the Gardaí, promoting a culture of performance management; succession planning; the recruitment of civilians with specialist expertise and improving training. The civilians include Senator Maurice Hayes, Emer Daly former director of strategic planning and risk management at Axa Insurance, Maurice Keane, former group chief executive at Bank of Ireland and Dr Michael Mulreany, assistant director general at the Institute of Public Administration. There has never been a layer of civilian management in the force before.

[edit] Garda Inspectorate

In accordance with Section 115 of the Garda Síochána Act, the Inspectorate shall consist of 3 members, to be appointed by the Irish Government. The functions of the Inspectorate, inter alia, are as follows:

• carry out, at the request or with the consent of the Minister, inspections or inquiries in relation to any particular aspects of the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána,
• submit to the Minister (1) a report on those inspections or inquiries, and (2) if required by the Minister, a report on the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána during a specified period and on any significant developments in that regard during that period, and any such reports will contain recommendations for any action that the Inspectorate considers necessary.
• provide advice to the Minister with regard to best policing practice.

The first Chief Inspector, is former Commissioner of Boston Police , Kathleen M. O'Toole and she reports to the Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform. She commenced this role in July 2006. The two other inspectors are Robert Olsen and Gwen M. Boniface.

Olsen was Chief of Police for 8 years of the 800-strong Minneapolis Police Department policing a city with a population of 382,000. He had a prickly relationship and his former boss, Mayor R T Rybak who tried to sack Olsen in April 2002, but the Mayor did not secure the support of the City Council at that time and Olsen remained chief until the expiry of his employment contract.^[21][22]

Boniface became is a former Commissioner of the 7,000-strong Ontario Provincial Police. She was one of 3 female police commissioners in Canada when appointed in May 1998.

Recently the Inspector suggested that rank and file Gardaí are not equipped to perform their duties or protect themselves properly. She also suggested routine arming may become a reality but dismissed the suggestion that this was currently being considered.

[edit] Garda Ombudsman Commission

The Garda Ombudsman Commission is empowered to:

• Directly and independently investigate complaints against members of the Garda Síochána
• Investigate any matter, even where no complaint has been made, where it appears that a Garda may have committed an offence or behaved in a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings
• Investigate any practise, policy or procedure of the Garda Síochána with a view to reducing the incidence of related complaints

The Garda Ombudsman Commission replaces the earlier system of complaints, the Garda Síochána Complaints Board and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2006. The Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides for the new Commission to replace the old mechanism.

The Members of the Garda Ombudsman Commission are

Mr. Justice Kevin Haugh, a Judge of the High Court is Chairman of the Commission. The other Members are Ms Carmel Foley, formerly the Director of Consumer Affairs and Mr Conor Brady, former Editor of The Irish Times and author of a book on the history of the Garda.

[edit] Garda Band

The Garda Band is a public relations branch of An Garda Síochána. It was formed shortly after the foundation of the force and gave its first public performance on Dún Laoghaire Pier on Easter Monday, 1923. The band was a success and appeared at various functions and events around the country. The first Band Master was Superintendant D.J. Delaney and he formed a céili and pipe band within the Garda Band.

In 1938, the Dublin Metropolitan Garda Band (who were based at Kevin Street) and the Garda Band amalgamated and were based at the Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park.

The band was disbanded in 1965 however to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation oh An Garda Síochána it was reformed on 1972.

Besides providing music for official Garda functions (such as Graduation Ceremonies at the Garda College) the Band undertakes a heavy community orientated programme each year performing at schools, festivals and sporting events. It has a long association with Lansdowne Road for Rugby and Soccer Internationals, the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin and the Rose of Tralee Festival.

The Band has also traveled to many international events and represented the country on a number of occasions at police festivals and concerts in Switzerland, Germany and Northern Ireland. In 1964 the band toured America and Canada under Superintendant J. Moloney.

The current music director of the band is Inspector Pat Kenny.

[edit] Garda Reserve

The Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides for the establishment of a Garda Reserve, consisting of 4,000 persons, to assist the Force in performing its functions. Its purpose is to supplement the work of members of the Garda Síochána. The first 900 recruits to the Reserve are expected to be in place by September 2006. They will carry out duties defined by the Garda Commissioner and sanctioned by the Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform.

The Garda Reserve is intended to be a source of local strength and knowledge. Reserve members will be given full powers and duties; they will however not receive full training, and they will be required to work under the supervision of regular members of the Force.

Over 3,000 applications have been received by the end of August 2006 from persons to join the Garda Reserve.

[edit] Policing abroad

Since 1989 An Garda Síochána has undertaken United Nations peace-keeping duties. Its first such mission was a 50 strong contingent sent to Namibia. Since then the force has acted in Angola, Cambodia, Cyprus, Mozambique, South Africa and the former Yugoslavia. The force's first fatality, whilst working abroad, was Sergeant Paul M. Reid, who was fatally injured while on duty with the United Nations UNPROFOR at "Sniper's Alley" in Sarajevo on 18 May 1995.

Members of An Garda Síochána also serve in the Embassies of Ireland in London, The Hague, Madrid and Paris. Members are also seconded to Europol in The Hague, Holland and Interpol in Lyon, France. There are also many members working directly for UN and European agencies such as the War Crimes Tribunal.

Garda officers also co-operate with members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in order to combat cross-border crime. They have also accompanied politicians from the Republic, such as the President on visits to Northern Ireland.

[edit] Sellafield nuclear facility

Under an agreement with the British Government under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Garda Síochána and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland are allowed to inspect the Sellafield nuclear facility, Cumbria, England.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Criminal Assets Bureau
• Emergency Response Unit
• Garda Síochána College
• GUBU
• Irish Army Rangers
• Police Service of Northern Ireland
• Royal Ulster Constabulary
• Special constable

[edit] External links

• Official site - An Garda Síochána
• Garda Complaints Board
• Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin
• Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors
• Garda Síochána mission statement on community policing
• Morris Tribunal
• Garda Síochána Act, 2005

v • d • e Police Forces in Ireland

Ireland · Garda Síochána na hÉireann Northern Ireland · Police Service of Northern Ireland

v • d • e Divisions of An Garda Síochána
Special units	Criminal Assets Bureau · Dog Unit · Emergency Response Unit · Public Order Unit · Special Detective Unit · Water Unit · Technical Bureau
Other sections	Garda Síochána College · Garda Síochána Reserve