Thin blue line getting thinner | #ukscams | #datingscams | #european

Confirmation of the shortfall came just days after a fatal stabbing in the city centre, in front of dozens of onlookers on a busy plaza off Grand Parade in the late evening sunshine. 

While a man has been charged with the incident, the event provoked widespread debate about street safety and renewed criticism about an apparent lack of a visible Garda presence.

One councillor, Thomas Maloney, has been tracking the numbers and told colleagues that a decade ago 24 detectives were based at the city’s Anglesea Street Garda Station, but the figure is now down to 12.

“Mayfield District is down seven detectives,” he added. “Gurranabraher District is down four detectives. The resources in the divisional drugs unit have been slashed from two sergeants and 16 detectives, 10 years ago, to one sergeant and nine detectives today. This is despite the fact that the city is awash with drugs.”

His last point is a key marker and one which should fully occupy the Citizens’ Assembly as it contemplates its taxing root-and-branch review of drugs policy in the Republic. 

Any recommendations must fully weigh the implications for policing, an area of investigation that is already found wanting in terms of resources. But it is not only drugs that have added to the workload over the past decade. Cybercrime and all its variants was relatively unknown in 2012 and has come a long way since the days of the Nigerian prince who needed your help to get a large sum of money out of the country, in return, of course, for a sizeable share of the treasure.

Now, barely a day passes without news of enterprises, large and small, and individuals being subjected to a panoply of online attacks — phishing and smishing, ransomware, romance scams, account redirection, false links, and all other manner of ingenious but malevolent offers to separate you from your money or valuable data.

In this fraudsters and criminals have been aided by the corporate and political rush to make everything digital, without the necessary accompanying consumer protections and compensation. But that cork is now fully out of the bottle.

Ireland’s population is growing rapidly, but the ratio of police to public is declining, which is not necessarily a validation of law-abiding spirit. To bring it up to target will cost billions. 

Garda strength stood at 13,995 last April. To keep pace with current trends it would need to rise to 15,153 by 2029 and to 16,238 in 2037. To match Portugal (10.3m citizens), Garda numbers would need to reach 18,076 by 2029 and 22,584 by 2037, at a cost of €4.2bn over the next 15 years.

Commissioner Drew Harris knew of what he spoke when he ruled out the blanket approval of overtime to get more officers on the beat in Cork City. “The constraint isn’t money. The constraint is actually the recruitment process and getting people into An Garda Síochána,” he said.

The consistent shortfall in numbers is not just an HR problem, it is a direct threat to one of the pillars of the State.