Chief Super admits need for additional gardai

The newly appointed Garda Chief Superintendent for the Cavan-Monaghan division has stated there is a need for additional members in the region, the case has been made and is being pursued vigorously.
Chief Supt Christopher Mangan gave the frank and open response to a question posed at a recent Cavan Joint Policing Committee (JPC) public meeting at the Cavan Crystal Hotel last Tuesday night.
Addressing whether senior management in the division were “happy” with the level of manpower currently available locally, he simply stated: “No.”
He further elaborated: “We could always do with more resources but we have to live in the real world and one in which we have to need to realise we’re coming out of a severe economic recession and we’ve had little or no recruitment.”
Garda numbers in Cavan-Monaghan have fallen by a fifth since 2009, with current figures from the Department of Justice, up to the end of October 2016, showing among their ranks four community gardaí and 29 detectives.

Two new gardaí
Two new gardaí have been assigned to the Cavan-Monaghan region from the passing out parade held in Templemore last month. The District was one of just 16 in the country to receive newly qualified recruits, adding to the 15 previously assigned locally.
“Certainly we could do with far more than what we have,” he told the well-attended meeting, chaired by Fianna Fáil Councillor John Paul Feeley (FF), and attended by Council CEO Tommy Ryan, fellow local authority executives and local elected members.

O’Higgin’s Report
Also addressing the meeting was Garda Victim Liaison Officer (GVL) at the newly established Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPS), Inspector Lorraine Stack.
She opened by saying it would be remiss, when speaking in Co Cavan, and given her role, not to mention the outcome of the O’Higgin’s Report, which criticised how victim complaints were handed in the Bailieborough District.
“For that we are terribly sorry. Tonight however, what I’m going to talk about is the future. Not necessarily the past. It’s about lessons learned and where we see we can make improvements.”
The GVL is one of four services under the auspices of the GNPS, including Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, and Child Protection and Missing Persons.
There are 28 GVL offices located nationwide, of which the divisional service for Cavan-Monaghan is located at Ballyconnell.
“We started this new bureau to look at and map out best practice that we can in dealing with victims traumatised by crime,” she said, adding while things have started “there is a lot of work to do yet.”

Operation Thor
Insp Niall McKiernan, formerly of Bailieborough Station, and now posted in Cavan, gave the meeting a presentation on anti-burglary and organised crime initiative Operation Thor, and the impact it has had in the region since it was launched.
Among the successes include a 40% reduction in burglaries, and a 25% reduction in thefts this year compared to the same period in 2015.
He was joined by Superintendent James Coen when answering a question from the floor in relation to a visible increase in uniformed gardai on streets in the run up to Christmas.
“Visibility ensures that criminals stay away,” Supt Coen told the meeting, and he warned locals in the run up to Christmas to secure their property and vehicles, highlighting the fact that seven cars were robbed from one estate last September after owners left them unlocked.
“We have to educate people,” he added, and both he and Chief Supt Mangan promised a reinvigorated approach to the Text Alert Scheme locally in the coming weeks and months.
Insp McKiernan will be leading that charge, along with colleagues in other stations. He also noted the launch of the Cavan Garda Facebook page and committed to using the social network to disseminate crucial crime prevention information and alerts in future.