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GARDAÍ TOOK MORE than an hour to attend the scene of a “high priority” reported child abduction due to a lack of transport.
And it wasn’t until two hours after gardaí were first informed of the incident that it was assigned to an officer.
The incident was outlined in the Logan report, published earlier this week, which investigated two incidents where children were wrongly taken into foster care.
Gardaí visited the homes of a two-year-old in Athlone, Co Westmeath, and a seven-year-old in Tallght, Dublin, both members of the Roma community, following suspicions that these children had been abducted.
Concerns
This was fuelled by concerns over their fair appearance. A blonde, blue-eyed child at a Roma camp in Greece had recently been recovered and returned to its original parents.
Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan found in the report that there wasn’t a “reasonable to objective reason” for the the two children to be taken into care, and called one incident the “definition of racial profiling”.
In one of these cases, centred around Child A in Athlone, gardaí were first contacted the Missing Persons Beureu at 3.24pm, after a member of the public had emailed their concerns that the child may not belong to the family.
The report read:
Receiving such an email through the Missing Persons Bureau caused the Gardaí in Athlone Garda Station to treat the case as a potentially high-risk situation and one requiring immediate Garda action.
Having been tied up with other duties, a Sergeant was unable to address the report until 5.30pm, and assign a garda who is familiar with the family to the case.
At 7pm, [the garda] called to Child A’s home and was accompanied by [a colleague]. The delay in arriving at Child A’s home was due to the absence of transport at the Garda station until that time.
The home is located less than 4km from the garda station.
One garda source told TheJournal.ie there there “major issues” within the force in terms of availability of vehicles, with “constant delays” reported.
Another noted that cars are not pooled at stations and available to whichever Garda members require them.
“They are attached to the specific section, such as Traffic Corp or Detective Branch, even when that section is not working, that car is not available to the regular unit and that Garda car may be left locked in the Garda station”, they said.
It is understood that in some rural areas there is not a patrol car available to respond at all times.
“€9m was secured towards the end of 2013 for investment in the Garda fleet,” a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said.
This investment resulted in the purchase of 305 new Garda vehicles at a cost of €5 million. These were in addition to the 133 new Garda vehicles which had already been procured during the year. The remaining €4 million has been made available for the purchase and fit out of Garda vehicles in 2014.
However this was previously criticised by the Garda Representative Association as it will only keep the number of vechilces ‘at its current level’ rather than increasing the number on the road.
The Justice spokesperson noted “that allocation of all policing resources, including transport, at both Divisional and Regional level is subject to ongoing monitoring and review by An Garda Síochána to ensure that the optimum use is made of available resource”.
Last year TheJournal.ie revealed that garda escort motorcycles were taken off the road for July and August, while local traffic units covered escorts.
The motorcycles, which are used for presidential escorts, in the transportation of prisoners to and from court and for escorting ambulances to hospitals in serious cases, are also used in regular traffic duty.
Additional reporting by Michelle Hennessy
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What a load of nonsense.
Gardaí are being criticised for taking kids from by their families based on racial profiling.
Now, they’re being criticised for not doing it fast enough.
Also, fair play to the Garda who managed to get to the “crime scene”, one hour before the case was even assigned to them.
Are you a math teacher?
Maths. This is Ireland. ;)
Drove through a so called checkpoint at 3pm recently with , 3 garda cars, 1 garda 4×4 and 3 garda motorbikes, All for road tax check, So I see no shortage in vehicles here in Dublin, There’s must be no real crime to attend in the country anymore.
Surprised you got red thumbed. My only interaction with Gardai is at the increasing amount of checkpoints for tax and insurance on our roads. They seem to have the time and resources for collecting money.
And an off-duty Garda can call his colleagues after the pub closes to collect him and his car to bring both home so he doesn’t have to pay for a taxi and have the car there to drive to work next morning!! Plenty of Garda transport to do this each w/e!!!
Of course, if road tax was added to property tax instead, there would be no need for a road tax check, or no need to prosecute people for not paying road tax, hey presto, more resources available for other duties.
RP – you really really are a small minded simple man. you were obviously caught for something over the years, delighted for you #fool
@ Rubber Head
There some of that Templemore wisdom gushing forward now ,Everyone guilty till proven innocent.
It’s the law- read his comment for gods sake, it’s only to try attract attention, has nothing to do with the article, so his comment is simple and he is a fool, your obviously not much better.
Well there is two Garda cars used regularity near me catching criminal drivers going 39km an hour in a 35km speed zone where there has never ever been a crash
There are five different speed limits in Ireland and 35kmh is not one of them
I was been sarcastic numptie
Hahahaha nice one!
Yeu were been wrong.
There’s actually 6 speed limits in Ireland. 30, 50, 60, 80, 100 and 120kmph.
‘..there is (*are) two Garda cars used regularity (*regularly) near me…” “…was been (*being) sarcastic numptie..”
You was been a terrible speller and user of gramatically….
Now that’s how you do sarcasm.
Fluich I bet in your robotic nanny state life you have a sense of humour somewhere somehow
‘Being’
With the murder rate sky rocketing the government closed police stations and cut back garda hours. Only in Ireland.
Leave the gardai Athlone, they are doing their best
No they’re not. Anyone who’s called a guard for any reason knows that.
Donners man you are an ejiit making a commeny like that
Sorry Dear,
There is a duty incumbent on them to protect everyone in the state, if they fail to OBJECTIVELY meet that standard, then, the people will have to take over, simple as!
By “objectively”, I mean that their crime detection, prevention and fighting ability must be reasonably robust. There will always be incidences where they will be powerless.
The gardai cannot respond to suspected child abduction cases without a delay yet we regularly see up to 10 assigned to civil situations where people peacefully obstruct the imposition of water meters. Go figure.
They weren’t driving cars were they! The story here is highlighting the lack of resources in an Garda siochana, it’s just happens that it’s contained in this report!
Deegan another silly comment from you today
They have notice and can plan accordingly. .
poor john. Engages before knowing what he is talking about . Very common for him.
Thing is also the cars ive seen. i30s im sure they are in lower end of scale of whats acceptable but put 200k a year on them and see how they hold up.
Simple truth is the guards should have proper cars in some cases 3ltr and above. The likes of i30 would be fine for I dont know moving documents or stuff from one station to another or admin stuff. Also guards should be better protected. Tazers and in my local I can walk right up to the guard with no glass. If I wanted to get him it would be too Easy.
With these new right to strike powers guards should use them till they are resourced like a proper police force
The i30 with the 1.7 litre 135 BHP diesel engine is no slouch, but it is still no match for a 138 BHP Accord, or a 204 BHP BMW two litre diesel engine, never mind the 3 litre engines that you have alluded to.
Hyundais are made from good strong steel. Hyundai are renouned for making the best steel. Steel is as you are probably aware, better than aluminium and plastic for protection which are also used on a lot of vehicles these days.
Oh im sure they are strong enough but getting T boned by stolen car I wonder how good they are then. But hiw good is any car then I suppose. But my car is 250 hp. No point in running but any car the guards have id leave for dirt.
My thinking on it is its garda management apart from saving money they wish every car was a yaris they dont want pursuits as the guards get blamed when the toe rag crashes out and dies
Most garda cars are bangers. I’m surprised the car actually made it to Athlone when it did become available. Maybe its because they’re never NCT tested?
Eh yes they are put through the nct like every other car. Ive seen it myself. Anyway what does the nct prove? That its roadworthy that day. Could un road worthy the next and remain thst way for two years. Its a money making racket and a way of increasing new car sales
“most Garda cars are bangers”.
They are not. There are plenty of 2011 and 2013 Garda cars around.
Stop making up stuff.
Yeah 2013 ford focus estates or transit connects with 1.6 diesel engines, other police forces are full of envy
It proves that the NCT has not found anything, it does not prove that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle.
Vehicle roadworthiness tests are carried out on an ANNUAL basis to even one year old vehicles in most OECD countries, yet in Ireland it is a money making racket in IReland, now why is that?
If you compare the standard of vehicles on the roads before the NCT was introduced, and the standard of vehicles on the roads after it was introduced, you will see that there has been a huge improvement in the general standard of vehicles, although there are exceptions.
A lot of other police forces have high powered BMWs and other high powered vehicles.
If my memory serves me correctly, the 1.6 diesel in the Fords produces 115 BHP which is hardly a match for my 138 BHP Honda Accord. And certainly no match for a 2 litre diesel BMW engine producing 204 BHP.
They have recently invested in Hyundai with the 1.7 diesel 135 BHP engine. They are a marginal improvement, though still underpowered for some of the jobs that they have to do.
Why are Gardai acting as a private security firm for Denis O’Brien, Look on any of the protest sites and you will see large numbers of Gardai (becoming more threatening and getting itchy for an arrest to please their masters, Look at the numbers of Gardai getting free booze off their bosses in Shell down in Rossport. If our Children are in more danger because of this cynical policing it is time to stand up to the Gardai. The force is corrupted and this is evidenced by their handling of whistleblowers, the Gardai have something to hide when they were openly hostile to GSOC (prior to the “bugging” incident, they were also openly hostile to the yellow packs working with them (what were they afraid of sure weren’t they getting a hand to do the work”. It is a great pity that they do not target the real criminals with the vigor that they pursue protesters, any regard i had for our Gardai is deteriorating by the day, for the love of God stand up and have some pride in your profession, society is not against you in fact we fully support you but you are making it increasingly difficult to maintain this support.
Correct frankie !!
@ Frankie Very well said, it’s the truth of the situation in this country now, no shortage of Gardai, or cars for water meter protesters, or any other political event, crime takes a back seat when it comes to ordinary citizens.
Yes Frankie. When the deli in our local Texaco rings the station to collect any left-over food at the end of each evening, the ‘lads’ are up within 5 mins to keep the grub hot! When the same Texaco was robbed, it took them 25 mins!!! Many Garda resources are about priorities!!
Childish
Garda cars available for huge increase in Tax and insurance checkpoints near where I live. Sometimes 2 cars and 4 Gardai.
Add the cost of road tax and insurance to fuel price and most of Traffic Corps could be re-assigned.
We have bootlicks in the dail,they only care about pleasing their wealthy foreign masters!!!!
Too busy being private security for the water meter installers.
Plenty of garda around when people are quietly protesting out side there homes against water meters !!
If there were no Roma gypsies
There would be more time for garda to do there job
Does athlone Garda station still close for lunch and then close up at 4
Ring them and ask them Elaine? Now that’s a idea!
Was there no other car private or otherwise – this beggars belief.
Do you actually expect a guard to take their own private car to an incident? Seriously?
In some rural areas, gardai are doing just this to serve their communities. If the truth about the fleet came out people would be shocked at the standard of vehicles gardai are expected to do their job in
Lara do you think for one minute that senior management would authorise the use of their private car to attend an incident? What would happen if they were involved in an accident enroute? Ordinary insurance would not cover them. I know in some more rural areas the use of private cars is authorised but on a case to case basis. Athlone is not in that net supposedly having enough official vehicles.Dublin management have a policy of moving official vehicled around the country and what ends up happening is that the country areas grts the knackered ones!
Why does the truth not come out Dawn keeballs, how are the Gardai possibly helping us by burying this fact, what else are they burying???? and why? Independent and transparent oversight of the Gardai is needed right now, The senior management of the Gardai are careerists who will do and say anything they are told (Much like every state body, the bootlickers rise to the top). You only have to look at the callinan debacle to see that when the chips were down we had a clown at the helm.
Hindsight 20/20
And they have them supervising the installation of water maters, good to see were the governments priorities are
Colorado murders are down 52%, police have 30% more manpower leading to a increase in solving crimes.
Wonder how they did this without any extra money?
Hint, 80% of the crime in Dublin is drug related!
Yet they are going to be dispatched around estates trying to catch welfare cheats ? WTF is WRONG with this country ?
Seriously some people are so nieve. Gardai do an amazing job Yes like any job you get your good and your bad that’s life. Remember they are a government run police force !! Increase in check points are for revenue they are under instruction from higher power to do this. Do you honestly think the plain gardai on the street want to do people out of money they don’t have !! They might have plenty of cars in Dublin and Cork big cities ect but not in rural areas I happen to know some garda stations are fighting for cars. Pieces of crap cars at that !!!! And no I’m not a garda myself private sector before anyone says it ;)
Does anybody else get the impression the majority of people commenting here are Garda.
Nope. Just pure eejits like u..
The Journal has a special web address /pages for the Gardai, to keep them up-to-date on matters of national security, local happenings, huge over-valued drug and cigs seizures etc….hence high proportion of red-thumbs for anything even slightly critical of the Thin Blue-Liners!;-). They have to have something to do when recovering, at their desks/parked in lay-bys/on the ramps at side of the safest roads in the country, from Friday night in Coppers:-)
Don’t ya love it when someone laughs at their own humour….especially when it’s not even funny in the first place.
Sorry officer. I won’t say another word.
If you’re not Garda then why does a search of your name show you commenting on several stories in the Journal relating to the garda?
Maybe they should consider re-issuing bicycles to garda stations. At 4km they could have easily biked there and back within the hour.
Many issues reported to the Garda could easily be dealt with using bicycles…
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