Ex-NY police chief calls for armed gardai

IF THE former New York city chief of police Mr John Timoney has his way, gardai will soon be required to carry firearms. Mr Timoney says he will propose the mandatory carrying of firearms to the anti crime commission organised by the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen.

Mr Timoney, who was the highest ranking uniformed officer during New York's decline in crime over the past two years, said this week in Manhattnn that he would recommend the firearms despite resistance from some within the Garda.

"From speaking with gardai I know many of them don't want guns," he said, "but I think in this day and age, with the kind of firepower we've seen from criminals in Ireland, firearms are necessary.

Mr Timoney (48) said he would also recommend the introduction of US style anti conspiracy laws and reform of the Irish bail system. "The Garda Siochana are the best trained police force in the world, bar none," he added. "But the laws have to be changed to better enable them to do their job."

Mr Timoney, whose family moved from a flat in the Liberties to New York when he was 12 years old, was asked by Mrs Owen to join the new commission a week after the killing of the journalist Veronica Guerin.

"I was in Dublin on a golf course when I first heard about Veronica Guerin's death," said Mr Timoney. "I spoke about the incident with Minister Owen, and a week later she called me in New York to ask me would I be able to take part in a new anti crime commission. I said of course I would, right away. I still consider Dublin my home town and I would do anything I could to help."

A frequent visitor to Ireland, he said an additional motivation for his return was the untimely deaths over the past year of two Dublin teenagers who were his second cousins. "I think it's really come home to me and to the Irish public that there is a serious crime and drug problem," he said.

Mr Timoney said that among the first initiatives he would propose was the adoption of US style anti conspiracy laws, which have enabled American prosecutors to convict not only street level offenders, but also organised crime bosses.

"I can't understand how every tabloid in Dublin reports on who the top criminal bosses are, but yet it seems impossible to put these guys behind bars. Irish prosecutors have to be given the tools to put the bosses away."

He listed those "tools" as greater surveillance powers and equipment, as well as legal reform regarding admissible evidence.

He will also press for bail reform. He said the need for such was made obvious by the case of the Dublin drug dealer Tony Felloni, convicted after committing numerous drug offences while free on bail.

"Until he was put away in June, Tony Felloni made a mockery of the bail system," said Mr Timoney. "I believe in bail and you should be entitled to make bail, but it doesn't make any sense to keep giving bail to a guy who hasn't stopped committing crimes."

The new commission will include "five or six" members including the new Garda Commissioner, Mr Patrick Byrne said Mr Timoney. He said matters such as his personal rank and financial compensation had not been discussed.

He is due to report to the commission until at least the end of the year, shuttling between Dublin and New York.

Mr Timoney's reputation as a stern commander who was immensely popular with the NYPD rank and file was shaken somewhat in April when he was dismissed by the New York City Mayor, Mr Rudolph Giuliani.

After a career of 30 years which culminated in his overseeing the city's internationally publicised dramatic drop in crime, Mr Timoney found himself a casualty of a political struggle between NYPD top brass and City Hall.

"I'd love to return to the NYPD some day, but not under this mayor," said Mr Timoney.

He said his goal was to help make a visible dent over the six months in the Irish criminal landscape.

"The gardai and the newspapers say there are about 12 major crime bosses in Ireland at the moment," he says. "If we can help put a few of those guys away by Christmas, I'll have considered this trip a success."