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GARDAÍ HAVE USED pepper spray more than 250 times so far this year, according to figures released by the Minister for Justice.
Responding to a parliamentary question from TD Tommy Broughan, Minister Charlie Flanagan revealed that over the course of 2018, pepper spray was used 687 times, tasers were used 31 times and firearms were used four times.
So far this year there have been 257 reports of pepper spray being used, eight instances of Taser use and one report of use of a firearm.
Under a Garda Síochána directive, garda management is required to notify the Garda Ombudsman’s office of the discharge of a firearm or less than lethal device within 48 hours of the event occurring.
The figures provided by the minister were the numbers reported to Gsoc under this directive.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has long been calling for the roll-out of Tasers to all frontline officers. Currently, frontline members are equipped with pepper spray, but only specialist units have access to Tasers.
An average of 12 gardaí a week are injured on duty and the GRA has said the number of assaults on members would reduce if equipment like Tasers and bodycams were introduced, as they have been in other jurisdictions.
Last year the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) expressed concern about the garda use of force. A report noted gardaí are likely to use pepper spray at a higher rate than the Metropolitan Police or the PSNI and stated that there was a lack of statistics available.
The report recommended recording all circumstances of deployments of weapons or use of force, together with an explanation of the circumstances, location of use, outcome and the identity of the gardaí involved.
Policing Authority member Vicky Conway also made reference today to this higher rate of pepper spray use:
“The Met also used batons 557 times, but we don’t have such a number of gardaí. Between firearms, Taser and pepper spray, An Garda Síochána 722, Met 895 – Met having twice the population, Conway said.
She said this “suggests police use more weapons in Ireland”.
It was revealed earlier this year that An Garda Síochána failed to notify Gsoc about more than half of Taser discharges within the required 48-hour period.
Broughan said he has been recently calling for greater resources to the gardaí and “more action from the government on rising instances of serious crime in Dublin”.
“However, it is also important to have transparency around the work of our gardaí and I would have expected some further explanations around the use of these measures which is why I asked the minister for a statement on the matter also.”
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Why are you warning “people” to cook meat correctly – warn the cooks/chefs in our hospitality industry.
@John Flood: John, there lies the problem. People want to cater at home and get their supplies from Catering Companies but unfortunately home appliances are sometimes not up to the job of cooking for large amounts of people. How many people test the temperature of food at home before serving it ?
@John Flood: Cooks & chefs are “people” too. Most people cook at home. Home isn’t exempt from this.
@John Flood: I suppose some is cooked at home…
@John Flood: never happen on the south side lol.
Some heads will need to roll after this.
I never got the “rare” cooked meat or steak tartare thing myself. Aside from bacterial contamination undercooked meat may carry parasitic eggs which will not be killed if the temperature is insufficient.
@Permo Dermo: Depends on what you’re cooking. Steak (assuming its fresh and from a reputable source) only needs to have the areas that have been exposed to the air cooked as it doesn’t tend to carry parasites or harmful bacteria, unlike chicken or pork. Tartar (or rare hamburgers) are risky, but even a blue steak is very unlikely to cause harm
Obviously no HAACP paperwork done.
@RJ.Fallon: you’ll find it’s done alright, with the same copy and paste job as yesterday. It is at best negligent and at worst criminal to have done this. Beyond scandalous. At least the names of those involved are out so we can
A V O I D.
@: Agreed,I should have said,if HAASP is used by conscientious staff, committed to their work. And hopefully,most are. Plus ,I know that Food Safety inspectors are ruthless in their checking of these records.
@: so if you buy a chicken in Tesco and under cook it and give your family salmonella, do you name and shame Tesco ?
I love chicken curry
@paul kelly: I’m glad for that..
@paul kelly: I like turtles.
Just getting over a bad dose of food poisoning from chicken goujons I had yesterday. Bought frozen, cooked for 45 mins in the oven, puking my ring for 12 hours shortly after in between the sweats and the chills. Horrendous.
@Jimmy Ireland: Get well soon. I once had food poisoning for months, a rare bug that 99% of people wouldn’t be bothered by. That was a nightmare, all I could think of was food but I couldn’t eat any. Ended up in hospital on a drip and a few days later eventually managed to eat half a piece of toast. Nothing had ever tasted so great. It was one of the best meals ever! I’ll never take buttered toast for granted again.
Was the chicken in this case cooked by the caterers and then reheated at the communion parties? Presumably it was and it would then fully have been the catering company at fault.
Any catering company selling chicken resulting in a salmonella outbreak should be shut down permanently
@@UK: I don’t know about that. People do leave food out for hours in warm weather. There’s food poisoning every summer. Maybe they needed a spare fridge for the day?
I had a bout of Salmonella that I picked up after travelling in Vietnam. Got it on my last day there. After all those weeks of eating local street food etc, it was the bloody western style cafe that I went to on the last day there… Thankfully the worst didn’t kick in until i got back to Ireland. It was awful. Wouldn’t wish it on anyone!
Why don’t they ever say the pains in your stomach will be terrible as well. They never say this.
@Rockhopper617: I don’t think other people want to hear all the gory details, that’s why. Also, if it goes on for long enough, your potassium levels plunge and your shins feel as if they’re about to snap when you walk. Seriously, once you’re better, I think the last thing you want is to dwell on how sick you were, you’re just delighted to feel human again, without putting other people off their food.
have your say