Political concern over public confidence in gardai

Labour has described as "alarming" the findings of an Irish TimesTNS/mrbi poll which shows that young people have little or no confidence in the gardaí.

The poll published in today's newspaper found 54 per cent of those in the 18-24 age group have no confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the gardaí.

Sinn Féin has described the figures as a "shocking indictment of current Garda management", while Fine Gael has blamed under-resourcing for the problem.

Labour's justice spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, said the figures reflected "anecdotal evidence" that young people had little confidence in the force.

He said the consequence of this was that "young people were ending up hostile to the establishment". The findings underpinned "the need to bring gardaí back to the community", he said.

Mr Costello said it was striking that 86 per cent of people supported the idea that the proposed independent inspectorate to investigate complaints the Garda should have full powers of search and arrest.

He said the current Garda Complaints Board was a "toothless body" and what was need was an ombudsman similar to that which has been set up in Northern Ireland.

But Fine Gael justice spokesman, Mr John Deasy, said the Garda ombudsman would not solve the problem. The "endless" legislation proposed by the minister and his statements of intent had "bored the public", he claimed.

"Most members of the public are more concerned with the effectiveness and responsiveness of the police force," he said.

The force needs greater resources to counter falling morale and arrest the trend in new recruits being forced into situations they have insufficient experience in dealing with, Mr Deasy continued.

"Increasingly some of these young Gardaí respond aggressively. As a result, a sense of alienation and antagonism has grown between the Gardaí and young males in particular," he said.

The gardaí should be surveyed to find out how many have confidence in the Minister for Justice, he added.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh, said the figures show the need for comprehensive reform of the force.

He said the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, "must implement changes that will make An Garda Síochána a truly democratically, accountable and transparent policing service for all the people."

The poll found a majority of voters retain confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the Garda Síochána but a substantial minority have no confidence in the force.

Some 58 per cent have confidence in the force, 37 per cent have no confidence and 5 per cent have no opinion, according to the poll.

Confidence in the force rises steadily among older age groups. Of those aged over 65, 74 per cent have confidence in the force, just 22 per cent do not, and 4 per cent have no opinion. In Dublin 48 per cent have confidence in the force, 46 per cent do not and 7 per cent have no opinion.