Garda detection plan aims to cut road deaths

This year gardaí aim to achieve a 15 per cent increase in the number of drink-driving and speeding detections to combat the growing number of fatalities on the Republic's roads.

The target for 2005 coincides with the roll-out of the new Garda traffic corps and forms part of a wider plan to decrease road fatalities by 25 per cent before the end of next year.

Traffic enforcement has now been identified as one of six major strategic goals for the force in its policing plan for 2005.

Young drivers have been designated for special attention.

The plan is to increase the number of drink-driving and speeding detections, using additional enforcement. More checkpoints and speed traps will be set up on all roads around the State.

The Garda is also working to identify collision blackspots in all divisions. It plans a proactive high-visibility operation at these blackspots to prevent crashes.

It is also working towards decreasing traffic congestion in all urban centres, and not just in Dublin, as has traditionally been the case.

As part of this plan the new traffic corps will undertake initiatives to manage traffic - similar to Operation Freeflow - in all congested urban centres at Christmas, bank holiday weekends and other peak periods.

A new pilot programme will be set up to train gardaí in the forensic analysis of crash scenes.

Currently gardaí are given no training in the forensic examination of such scenes, even where there has been loss of life.

They will also focus on reducing collisions involving Garda vehicles.

With this in mind all "case characteristics" and other accident "causes and consequences" will be examined to reduce the frequency of accidents involving Garda vehicles and to improve safety.

In other areas of the policing plan for the year, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, has committed the force to carrying out "threat assessments of persons and State installations vulnerable to subversive/terrorist attack".

The Garda will also concentrate on fostering links with other international police forces in this area and will participate in "at least 10 international police countersubversive/anti- terrorist activities" over the next 12 months.

On public safety the Garda Commissioner has committed the force to an enhanced service on public order issues. The number of public order vans available in each Garda division will be increased.

Special uniforms designed for public order or riot situations are to be issued, and the training needed to deal with major public order events will be assessed.

Gardaí will also identify public order hotspots and will liaise with the owners of fast-food outlets and licensed premises at these locations to reduce public order offences.

Some 2,000 additional officers are to recruited into the force over the next three years.

In the meantime there will be a review of the deployment of current members, and the outsourcing of non-core tasks will be examined.

The Assistant Commissioner of National Support Services, Mr Tony Hickey, has been asked to assess if civilian staff could be employed to assist deportations from the State.

This duty is undertaken by gardaí and is seen as a major drain on manpower, where large numbers of gardaí can be required for specially chartered flights used to deport up to 120 failed asylum-seekers at a time.