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Army reservists to back up gardai
©The Irish Daily Star, Wednesday April 1, 2009
By Star reporter
PART TIME soldiers are to be brought in to support gardai in response to a huge increase in the number of full time officers retiring, it emerged last night.
The decision, confirmed by sources within the departments of Justice and Defence to The Star last night, will be formally announced by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in his special budget next week.
The move will see 2,000 reservists receiving special training before accompanying full time gardai on patrol, particularly at weekends, where they will have to face down drunks and other rowdy revellers.
The specially chosen Reserve Defence Forces personnel will wear Garda uniforms and will have access to the same equipment used by full time members of the force, including ballistic vests, extendable Asp batons and soon to be introduced pepper spray canisters.
They will have full powers of arrest and will join the estimated 300 members of the current Garda Reserve - the force's part timers - on patrol.
However, because they are still part of the RDF, they will have special insignia on their uniforms.
The Government is still considering what the insignia should be, but say it is likely to be each local RDF unit’s patch.
And, because RDF personnel are trained in firearms, some of them will also be deployed to the Garda Emergency Response Unit , which is routinely armed.
The ERU has access to a wide range of weapons, including so called less than lethal weapons, including Tazers, CS gas and bean bag shotguns.
The ERU is tasked with siege, or barricade, incidents, as well as confronting subversives and organised crime gangs within the state.
Other RDF personnel will also be deployed to district detective units (DDU) around the country to act as armed back up to full time detectives.
But sources said the armed RDF personnel would not be expected to carry out the investigative roles of detectives: instead, they will accompany individual, armed, detectives on tours of duty and provide armed assistance to them in a crisis situation.
The sources also said RDF personnel would not be deployed to other national units, such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) or Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).
The reservists in question have all carried out training in the past 18 months with full time Defence Forces personnel as part of an effort to integrate to the two groups.
Each RDF member will be expected to carry out an eight hour tour of duty every fortnight.
Military commanders say there is no need to ask the soldiers’ permission for the new role as they have already signed a contract as a member of the RDF.
“We will be working in the ATCP (Aid to the Civil Power) role. They will still be members of the RDF, but will be wearing a Garda uniform,” said one source.
“We anticipate most of the personnel will be happy to work with the Gardai.”
The Star has established that more than 2,000 full time members of An Garda Siochána have written to the force’s Human Resources Management section in that last five weeks, signalling their intention to retire.
Most retirees who spoke to The Star last night said they had taken the decision to leave earlier than they had to because of the recently introduced levy on public service employees’ salaries.
They have all reached the 30 years’ service mark which entitles them to a full Garda salary and say staying on as a member is no longer financially worthwhile and are, effectively, losing money.
Members have also expressed concerns that next week’s budget will see their gratuity payment – a lump sum given to every officer upon retirement that is worth up to €150,000 – being taxed.
“Many members are convinced the grat (gratuity) will be taxed and have retired before that happens,” one experienced officer told The Star last night.
Many of the gardai who have given their notice are significantly under the mandatory retirement age of 60 and senior management admit the number of retirements will significantly impact on their ability to provide a nationwide policing service.
The gardai, including members of all ranks up to Chief Superintendent, will leave a significant personnel gap in the force, which has round 14,400 sworn, or attested, officers.
However, the Garda Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, is currently producing around 90 qualified members every month and senior officers admit they will soon be facing serious personnel shortages all over state.
The RDF personnel are expected to be acting as Garda officers by April 1 next year.
©The Irish Daily Star, Wednesday April 1, 2009
By Star reporter
PART TIME soldiers are to be brought in to support gardai in response to a huge increase in the number of full time officers retiring, it emerged last night.
The decision, confirmed by sources within the departments of Justice and Defence to The Star last night, will be formally announced by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in his special budget next week.
The move will see 2,000 reservists receiving special training before accompanying full time gardai on patrol, particularly at weekends, where they will have to face down drunks and other rowdy revellers.
The specially chosen Reserve Defence Forces personnel will wear Garda uniforms and will have access to the same equipment used by full time members of the force, including ballistic vests, extendable Asp batons and soon to be introduced pepper spray canisters.
They will have full powers of arrest and will join the estimated 300 members of the current Garda Reserve - the force's part timers - on patrol.
However, because they are still part of the RDF, they will have special insignia on their uniforms.
The Government is still considering what the insignia should be, but say it is likely to be each local RDF unit’s patch.
And, because RDF personnel are trained in firearms, some of them will also be deployed to the Garda Emergency Response Unit , which is routinely armed.
The ERU has access to a wide range of weapons, including so called less than lethal weapons, including Tazers, CS gas and bean bag shotguns.
The ERU is tasked with siege, or barricade, incidents, as well as confronting subversives and organised crime gangs within the state.
Other RDF personnel will also be deployed to district detective units (DDU) around the country to act as armed back up to full time detectives.
But sources said the armed RDF personnel would not be expected to carry out the investigative roles of detectives: instead, they will accompany individual, armed, detectives on tours of duty and provide armed assistance to them in a crisis situation.
The sources also said RDF personnel would not be deployed to other national units, such as the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) or Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).
The reservists in question have all carried out training in the past 18 months with full time Defence Forces personnel as part of an effort to integrate to the two groups.
Each RDF member will be expected to carry out an eight hour tour of duty every fortnight.
Military commanders say there is no need to ask the soldiers’ permission for the new role as they have already signed a contract as a member of the RDF.
“We will be working in the ATCP (Aid to the Civil Power) role. They will still be members of the RDF, but will be wearing a Garda uniform,” said one source.
“We anticipate most of the personnel will be happy to work with the Gardai.”
The Star has established that more than 2,000 full time members of An Garda Siochána have written to the force’s Human Resources Management section in that last five weeks, signalling their intention to retire.
Most retirees who spoke to The Star last night said they had taken the decision to leave earlier than they had to because of the recently introduced levy on public service employees’ salaries.
They have all reached the 30 years’ service mark which entitles them to a full Garda salary and say staying on as a member is no longer financially worthwhile and are, effectively, losing money.
Members have also expressed concerns that next week’s budget will see their gratuity payment – a lump sum given to every officer upon retirement that is worth up to €150,000 – being taxed.
“Many members are convinced the grat (gratuity) will be taxed and have retired before that happens,” one experienced officer told The Star last night.
Many of the gardai who have given their notice are significantly under the mandatory retirement age of 60 and senior management admit the number of retirements will significantly impact on their ability to provide a nationwide policing service.
The gardai, including members of all ranks up to Chief Superintendent, will leave a significant personnel gap in the force, which has round 14,400 sworn, or attested, officers.
However, the Garda Training College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, is currently producing around 90 qualified members every month and senior officers admit they will soon be facing serious personnel shortages all over state.
The RDF personnel are expected to be acting as Garda officers by April 1 next year.
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