Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has asked the Garda Commissioner to ensure measures to crack down on gangland crime remain a top policing priority this year.
“The key priority of the Garda Siochána must continue to be serious, organised crime,” Mr Ahern said today at the publication of the 2010 Policing Plan unveiled at Garda headquarters in Dublin.
“The Garda Siochána will maintain their resolute, and determined focus on gangland crime.”
The key elements of the plan are anti-terrorism, combating serious and organised crime, disrupting human trafficking and reducing road deaths.
The plan also sets out commitments to complete and implement a Garda Charter on customer service to improve response to calls and the level of community policing the public can expect.
Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said national security, roads and community policing would be top of the agenda.
“Confronting crime goes to the heart of our daily work in reducing crime and the fear of crime,” he said. “Key actions under this goal include tackling organised crime through targeted, intelligence-led operations as well as reducing crimes against people and property through crime prevention and reduction activities combined with meaningful and active engagement with the community.”
Mr Murphy also stressed the importance of modernisation of the force and the role of community policing in future strategies.
“As a modern progressive organisation, An Garda Siochána is fully committed to using all available resources to meet our over-riding objective, which is to prevent, detect and disrupt crime and criminal activity and to ensure that people feel safe in their homes, on our roads and in public places,” he said.
The Commissioner also noted plans for the national digital radio, an upgraded computer aided dispatch system in Dublin region and automated fingerprint identification system.
He stressed the importance of community policing in official Garda policing strategy over the next three years.
“The community must remain at the core of everything that we do, because they are our greatest ally in detecting and preventing crime,” he said. “Indeed, building and maintaining close relationships with communities is a key indicator of the effectiveness of any police force.”