Members of the public are to be asked if they have suffered racist treatment at the hands of the Garda as part of a major survey of attitudes to the force.
The survey coincides with a new recruitment drive which aims to make the Garda more racially diverse. Almost 200 non-nationals, most of them Asian Chinese, have passed the first stage of this process, an aptitude test, it has emerged.
Some 10,000 adults will be questioned as part of the 2006 Garda Public Attitudes Survey, to be carried out between March and May.
Respondents will be asked if they have ever been subjected to a racist incident, or have been subjected to racist treatment by a garda. A racist incident is defined as one that is perceived to be racist by the victim, a witness or an investigating garda.
The Department of Justice recently advertised a tender for the survey, which will take in all 25 Garda divisions in the State.
As well as measuring public satisfaction with the Garda, the survey aims to gauge the public's perception of policing priorities and its fear of crime.
One question which asserts that the Garda has "limited resources" and is faced with a wide range of demands goes on to ask respondents to assign a priority to different policing tasks. It also asks respondents which priority they think the Garda actually gives to different tasks.
The survey will also seek to establish public attitudes to drugs and in particular the penalties applicable to people found in possession of soft drugs.
About 8,400 people applied to join the Garda in the recruitment campaign, and 4,900 of these were called to take the aptitude test. Some 2,872 men and women passed the test, of which 193, or 7 per cent, are non-nationals.
The next stage involves an interview, after which successful candidates will undergo a two-year training course in Templemore.
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