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A SURVEY PUBLISHED today has found most people in Ireland trust An Garda Síochána, but many victims feel gardaí either can’t or won’t do anything.
Some 682 people surveyed had been a victim of crime in the previous 12 months, with 25% reporting their home had been burgled and 19% saying they had been assaulted.
Of this group, 174 people – more than one quarter – did not report the incident. The key reasons for not reporting the crime were that respondents believed that the gardaí could not do anything, that they would not do anything or that the incident was not serious enough to report.
The results show 57% of those who did report the incident were satisfied with the handling of their case, but 41% were dissatisfied.
Satisfied
The public attitude survey of 6,000 people nationally was conducted by Amarach last year on behalf of the organisation and Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan had been asked recently by the Policing Authority to publish the findings.
Overall, 70% of respondents said they were satisfied with the service provided to their local community and 85% said they had a medium to high level of trust in the organisation.
Most respondents agreed that members of the force are “friendly or helpful”, and that An Garda Síochána is “community-focused”. Less than half of the people surveyed agreed it was “well managed”.
The survey also asked people which crimes they would like to see prioritised. The main priority for all age groups, sexes and social classes, was sexual offences.
Respondents said crimes against the person were a higher priority for them than other crimes like public order, traffic offences and criminal damage.
A garda spokesperson said the results show there is “strong trust” in the organisation, particularly at local level. However, they accepted gardaí have more work to do in ensuring victims are getting the information they want on the progress of their case and the supports available to them.
To ensure we address this issue we will be shortly conducting focus groups with victims of crime, as well as carrying out an evaluation of the 28 Victim Service Offices, which were established 15 months ago.
“This shows our commitment to listening and learning to victims of crime and improving our service to them based on this feedback.”
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Its not the gardai that are the problem but our politicians and Judiciary who seem to think that re-offenders should still get probation. Have to hand it to the Judge recently who looked for a probation report on a criminal in Limerick who robbed a shop with a Knife. He had over 200 previous convictions
It is the Gardai that are the problem too. I’d be inclined to trust your average Garda after I’d sussed them out for a few minutes. I wouldn’t be inclined to trust a Garda above the rank of Sergeant unfortunately. Nor would I ever go personally and give information to the Gardai on something I witnessed. I would ring a confidential line, or write an anonymous letter instead. when you hear of garda stations being bugged and phonecalls illegally recorded how the hell can you have trust?
Most members of the gardai are decent sorts it’s their so called leadership that’s the problem. They’re stuck in a dysfunctional time warp that perpetuates an organisation that’s unfit got purpose. The gardai needs to be restructured from the top down with separate metropolitan forces for cities which have very different problems to small town rural Ireland. If not its just like a dog chasing is tail around and around with no result except frustration and tiredness
The Gardai are lick most other sections of the community there are good ones and there are bad ones.
(Like)Damn fat fingers.
Most people in Ireland trust the Gardai to do nothing for victims.
Should the head line not read most people in Ireland that have never been the victims of crime trust the gards and most people who have don’t…. Its the same as iv never been to a hospital in Ireland so i just assume its well run and alls good there should i need to go get help at one!
The Gardai are a sound bunch of lads! In every walk of life your going to meet bad people regardless of their profession. There are too many cases that people join for the wrong reasons too. The real dedicated ones are their to help and make a difference but some avoid as much work as possible. Overall they ain’t a bad organisation though. For those of you that truly put in the effort.. Well done lads!
Thanks for that…it’s a pleasure to hear.
PS: Don’t worry about that speeding fine, it’s sorted(wink, wink)
Rubbish!!
The gardaí are useless
Not true Gavin, they’re very good at protecting denis obrien’s interests
Well said, William Clay.
The people have no confidence in the commissioner and senior officers.they are afraid to report crimes,in case they are stitched up for it.thats how bad it is.
We are not told who commissioned this report, clearly it is more PR spin from the guards, specially in view of the unrerelenting bad publicit,y and negative coverage, of recent weeks months and indeed, years with regard to penalty points, the treatment of whistleblowers , culture of cover up, incompetence and issues raised in the O`Higgins report, which have not been addressed. Questions regarding the Commissioner and issues raised by the new garda authority.
The guards are in crisis due to their own mishandling of these events, and others and have a long way to go to restore public confidence, if ever. But it is entirely of their own making
Unreal.
It’s written in the article that Amarach carried out the research having been commissioned by An Garda Siochana.
It’s the 5th paragraph down.
I have went to the Drogheda Garda station to report harassment and they told me to go to the Dundalk garda station to report it. Another occasion a few years back I reported a death threat to the Gardaí in the Drogheda Station and the Garda behind the Gardaí who wrote it in his book thought it was very funny. So sometimes the attitude of the Gardaí can be the biggest thing preventing victims from reporting crime as well as there laziness…
You seem very alive for a death threat.
Doesn’t sound like much of a threat now does it.
You are talking rubbish buddy. Death threats are serious criminal offences. Baiba Soulite was similarly ignored in Swords and was shot dead. Her solicitor was given police protection!
Peter, all the Gardaí did in Drogheda was write it in their book on those occasions and the last time a Garda told me to report it to the Dundalk station after me telling him they happened in Drogheda the threats and harassment. It seemed to me that they couldn’t be BOTHERED but that is what you get from sharing stuff in public, comments from people who haven’t a clue sticking their oar in.
A relative got a death threat to her unborn baby as those who made it at the time had it in their head that some how she was supporting me about stuff she never knew and again the Drogheda Gardaí couldn’t be bothered but just write it in their little book. One night I was assaulted because of the same (rap and reported it to the garda in the station and he couldn’t be bothered but I took a photo of the injury. So they are extremely lazy, just happy to write the incidents in their book or something else…
Throwaway, 14 years of death threats, harassment and slander… You get use to it. About 2 years ago I was shopping as usual and a man I knew I knew his face pointed me out to 4 6 foot tall Arab body builder men, pointed me out by pointing at me and saying “that’s the b…..d” and all with angry stern faces. I was the only person in their eyeline at the time due to the day and time…
If that is not a threat then what is? All because I reported men to HR 13 years ago in a place I worked in and they have been poisoning wells ever since, anyone else would called that psychopathic…
Peter, you have to be friends of friends or “noticed” for the Gardaí to do anything for you… I do think I know what I have experienced and then you reply with that statement???
There was an issue outside work a few months ago. An aggressive junkie begger was assaulting people including a group of young girls. Phoned Kevin st. to report it. No one showed even though it’s a 2 minute drive. More people were assaulted including myself. Phoned again, still a no show. So why would you bother calling them if they can’t be bothered to show up to an actual crime in progress??
Yes because it’s all down to been bothered. In fact that’s how all policy, prosecutions, and Garda action is measured: botheredness. Robbery is one botheredness, theft is only a .5 on the botheredness scale.
Thank you for whitewashing over the fact that Gardaí are not resourced enough to get to every call by the time someone hangs up.
In all fairness, I’m inclined to believe there are a few good apples in the barrel…
I trust Garda management to whitewash curroption, bully whistleblowers, quash penalty points for friends and flaunt the laws the purport to enforce. There heavy handed tactics during the water protests when INM had “sources” from both seirra construction and the Garda to give exclusive stories. The Guinness enquiry which has now being forgotten. It’s an organisation that is rotten from the head down with freelance slum landlords parading around with rows of medals. reporting crimes is a luxury only those with home insurance would consider, permotion within the force is down to politicial interference, marital connections or daddy or manny already in an high position. We are living in a crimmials paradise fuelled by high taxes with a legislature more interested in spin than social cohesion. The gardai are just unaccountable civil servants sitting on their hands waiting for a pension and a job in private security. Who would blame them.
two types you just cant Trust,
a Priest and Garda.
Sometimes things start for one reason then carry on for another and then they can end for another totally different reason and sometimes it keeps going for the way it started but the excuses are created to excuse it and to keep it going and sometimes the Gardaí don’t give a flying f…k…
Denis o Brien comments are never too far away…. Get the f@#k over it. Half the fools at the protests never worked a day in their lives. Useless.
JAMES mc Donagh, you know half the protesters person ally and their employment status? You want to see useless, look in the mirror
A family members health can also put off reporting a crime as well but it depends on the crime that was done I suppose, some like harassment or something to the same level but you can yet still report it within 6 months of it last happening I believe?
Certain offences have a 6 month limit within which a prosecution must be started. Beyond 6 months and the complaint is statute barred. Most arrestable offences (for which the offence carries a penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment & above) do not have a 6 month time limit. It’s only a general rule, and you can get judicial reviews that might overturn a prosecution based on (amongst other things) the time delay in reporting an offence or undertaking a prosecution. The most common example would be historical sex abuse cases.
Thanks Throwaway, I thought that meant all from the way I read it on the Gardaí site…
I spent 5 days on a jury recently and it was maddening and frustrating. The problem is with the judicial system we need tougher laws. Guards must get fed up arresting the same repeat offenders over and over and they just go into the system and put back out on the streets to reoffend and waste hard working tax payers money
The Gardai are corrupt and anyone who has direct experience of them know this to be true. The force are a pack of profound liars and anyone believing this or any other commissioner needs their heads examined. Most sensible people wouldn’t waste their time with these liars.
The Guards do a tough job under very trying circumstances a lot of the time, the judges of this country let them down by giving lenient sentences to thugs who are in the court
Rte wont put a journalists name on a article. (They just copy and paste other peoples lies, quotes) The guards make their own rules. The goverment line their own pockets. People have lost all trust in the establishment. And rightly so
Rte wont put a journalists name on a article they just copy a paste other papers lies and quotes. The guards make their own laws The goverment line their own pockets. People have no trust in the establishment and rightly so.
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