Sex and domestic crime units for Cavan Gardaí

An Garda Síochána is “ready to go” on a major investment and refurbishment programme to its existing headquarters in Cavan Town to include accommodation for Armed Support Unit (ASU) members serving locally.

As reported previously, the Gardaí have taken control of the former Garda and Customs Barracks at the junction between Abbey and Farnham Street in Cavan Town. Already members of the Traffic Corp and special investigation units have decamped to the new additional space.

“We’ve already had some works done around prisoner management [at the existing HQ]. That’s completed. But the additional works, which is a significant contract, has been signed-off and agreed and is ready to go as soon as the restrictions are lifted. It will entail a suite of internal and external works,” Chief Superintendent for the Cavan-Monaghan division, John O’Reilly, informedThe Anglo-Celtthis week.

The ASU in Cavan-Monaghan continues to be supplemented from trained units elsewhere across the country after the Coronavirus crisis suspended the open competition for local serving members to join.

But the Chief Supt is hopeful of completing the process of assignment as soon as possible, especially as he is pushing to establish two new units within Cavan-Monaghan, whose role it will be to investigate specialised crime types including sexual crime, human trafficking, child abuse and domestic abuse.

The Divisional Protective Services Units (DPSUs) will also support vulnerable victims of crime, as well as provide enhanced collaboration with the Child and Family Agency to safeguard children.

“I don’t know when that will recommence,” Chief Supt O’Reilly said of the appointment competition for the ASU.

“I hope it will start again sooner rather than later because I’m ready to move to interview stage on [the DPSUs]. They’re new units that will established, one based in Cavan and one in Monaghan,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Garda chief informed theCeltthat gardaí across the region were placed on high alert last Bank Holiday weekend that another ATM theft might take place, a threat that remains.

Additional patrols were placed near possible target locations, while gardaí also stopped plant and agricultural machinery moving at unusual times of day or night.

A little over a year ago, the Easter Bank Holiday weekend saw two ATMs ripped from the wall on John Street in Kells, Co Meath.

It was also reported that same weekend that two ATMs were stolen overnight in Northern Ireland in Co Armagh and Co Antrim.

There have been several arrests made to date in connection with foiled ATM raids in Virginia, Co Cavan in August 2019, and most recently in Dundalk in early April this year.

“We continue to factor [the threat] into everything we do,” Chief Supt O’Reilly said.

He admitted gardaí were indeed placed on alert, noting: “As a force we have had successes in the recent past, but that does not mean the threat has gone completely. That it was a Bank Holiday weekend may have meant the threat was greater, there may well be reasons to think that, but we are conscious this sort of crime could occur at any time.”

The region’s top cop spoke to this newspaper as An Garda Síochána continues with Operation Fanacht, apprehending those in breach of current COVID-19 restrictions and regulations.

He praised the level of “positive” engagement taking place with the public at large. “Couple of issues where we’re challenged, and we deal with them as and when they arise, but really there has been a massive amount of compliance, which we’re very thankful for.”

But he says the high rate of infection in both counties Cavan and Monaghan poses an ongoing challenge.

Among his own staff, Chief Supt O’Reilly admits he has a “very small” number of serving members currently off-duty due to Coronavirus. “A very small number - some cocooning, others isolating. A few are recovering,” he said.

Chief Supt O’Reilly, who links in with the Major Emergency Management Framework for the North East on a bi-weekly meeting says: “It’s not down to one group to keep people safe, it’s a collective effort, and it has been from the staff. It’s also not necessarily down to statutory bodies, it’s down to people themselves to stay safe, and I have to say people are being extremely responsible. The nature of life is you will have challenges, you will have difficult people, but they are very much the minority.”