Gardaí called over ‘bus passenger eating cheese and onion crisps'
Gardaí have called for better scrutiny of dispatching after officers refused to respond to a call complaining that someone was eating a packet of crisps on a bus.
Last week at the annual Garda Representative Association (GRA) conference in Killarney, Co. Kerry, gardaí urged more 'triaging' of calls before officers are sent out.
A motion put to its delegates, which was later passed by an overwhelming majority, called for the Garda Commissioner to implement 'a Garda call-answering policy that properly identifies whether the call for service made to An Garda Síochána is appropriate for a policing response or another service to deal with'. Tayto Cheese and Onion. Pic: Tesco
Other callouts officers have responded to include incidents involving a 'suicidal dog', as well as birds' nests in people's homes, gardaí said.
GRA representative Peter Firth told Extra.ie that some calls officers have been dispatched to attend in recent times have been 'laughable'. 'We have a very weak policy in relation to the Garda decision-making model, due to the level of oversight and fear of discipline,' he said.
'People are very slow to cancel calls because gardaí are worried that a member of the public might complain or that someone in management might perceive a call that we didn't attend as one we should have.
Again it's a fear of discipline.' He added: 'We are getting calls that are never a policing matter and they're being responded to by An Garda Síochána. Sometimes those responses are absolutely laughable. Other callouts officers have responded to include incidents involving a 'suicidal dog', as well as birds' nests in people's homes, gardaí said. Pic: Shutterstock
'We have definitely received calls to respond to people eating crisps on a bus. What happened was that there was someone on a bus eating a packet of cheese and onion, causing annoyance to another member of the public because of the smell.
'There was another one where a couple of lads in the southeast were sent because a neighbour called and said she was concerned about a young bird's nest in someone's house and that they might not have been able to get out because the people were on holidays.' He said that 'because we're not declining those calls, the requests become more acceptable over time'. 'It becomes its own monster.
The reason they are sent to gardaí is that the members in the control room have to make the decision and they have no faith in the policy that they won't be disciplined,' he added. 'Finite resources are being used for us to be dragged to things that are not Garda issues.' Garda Dan Ryan, who is stationed in the Carlow area, described how his colleagues were called out to deal with a dog 'whose owner thought he was suicidal'. A Dublin bus parked. Pic: Shutterstock
He said: 'Currently, there's no triage policy with the control room. For example, we recently dispatched to a call where a person rang in believing that her dog was suffering from mental health problems and the dog, her dog, was going to take his own life.' He said that 'we have to go to everything', adding: 'We had to go speak with this lady. I wouldn't say we spoke with the dog.'
In a statement, Garda HQ commented: 'Community policing is the provision of a policing service to the whole community, both urban and rural, through a partnership-based, proactive, problemsolving style of policing. It is focused on community engage – ment, crime prevention and law enforcement and addresses crime and policing quality-of-life issues affecting communities.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dublin Live
2 hours ago
- Dublin Live
Garda Commissioner sends 'be afraid' warning to Kinahan trio
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has warned the surviving leaders of the Kinahan cartel : 'we are coming for you'. "They should be worried," Mr Harris said on Monday – 12 days after Daniel Kinahan's key confidant Sean McGovern was sent back from Dubai to face serious charges in his native Dublin, including murder. The three Kinahan men – Christy, 67, Daniel, 47, and Christopher 44 – are also holed up in Dubai and Mr Harris now says time is running out for them in the desert state of the United Arab Emirates. And he added: "Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice." Speaking at Garda HQ in Dublin's Phoenix Park, Mr Harris warned the leaders – who like McGovern were hit with sanctions by United States authorities in April 2022 – were the subject of an unprecedented international law enforcement operation. He said: "They should have been worried now for a number of years because there's huge effort, huge investigative effort, and international effort, has gone into the investigation of the overall Kinahan organised crime gang. A lot of things which they said couldn't be done, have been done. "So following on from the sanctions, the work that we've undertaken with the UAE, and the work that specifically we've undertaken with the police in Dubai has been very fruitful. They have been very active partners with us in terms of investigation, providing us information, and obviously, UAE authorities have worked to support the extradition, and you see an individual then extradited back to Ireland to face justice here, and that's the correct thing to do." (Image: Irish Mirror) The sanctions also saw each of the Kinahan trio have a bounty of $5 million placed on their heads – and Mr Harris told other members of the gang that they should consider turning their bosses in and taking the reward money. He said: "I would also point out the other senior lieutenants within the Kinahan Organised Crime group who are now facing justice or are imprisoned, and the sanctions and the rewards still stand. "And I would point to there's $15 million there of reward money through the federal law enforcement authorities of the US, so that is still in play as well. I just want to remind others in the Kinahan Organised Grime Gang of the perilous position that they're now in. "Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice. So all of them should be worried, and they should be thinking about the choices, serious life choices that are now ahead of them, in respect of what to do over the coming months. Our work with the Dubai police obviously carries on." And Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly – who oversaw much of the crackdown on the Kinahans when he was in charge of the force's serious crime operations – said that mid ranking members of the cartel had serious life decisions to take. "Some of these people need to have a really good think," he said. "They have some serious life choices they can make. They have a choice to make. The rewards are in place." He also said the May 29 extradition of Crumlin, south Dublin native McGovern, 39, showed that gardai were determined to hunt down major gangsters. Mr Kelly said: "A number of years and the commissioner were asked about this, and I think what we had said was, we would be relentless in our pursuit of some of these transnational organised crime groups. "And I think the events last week as absolute evidence of that. And I think it's really important as well that everybody knows that there's other transnational organised crime groups outside the Kinahan OCG, and exactly the same for those. "It doesn't matter where in the world they are. If there are charges here, we will seek to have them extradited back to Ireland. So extradition agreements, all the work by the Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, are really important to our organization. "I'll just repeat that again. We will be absolutely relentless in our pursuit of these criminals." And he said the international manhunt would not stop at the Kinahans – and pointed out that gardai had already dismantled two other gangs here. One is believed to be a gang from Blanchardstown in west Dublin that has been heavily targeted by gardai, while the other is thought to be the Family, a major outfit from Clondalkin. It has been targeted and degraded by gardai – as well as cops in Spain. Mr Kelly said: "There are people that are involved in organised crime, and they need to look and see what the result of that is. We have absolutely dismantled two of the organised crime groups here in Dublin. At one stage, we had 47 members of one group in jail. "So if you make those life choices and you want to become involved in this, the reality facing you is the full force of the state against you and investigations by specialist investigators, prosecutions, many of these cases end up in the Special Criminal Court. "As you're all aware, there's been numerous lengthy sentences sent out for possession of drugs, firearms. Now we have substantial legislation around organised crime, directing and facilitating organised crime. "So there's a huge range of powers we have. And even beyond that, we can see people who are convicted, their houses are now being subject to Criminal Assets Bureau orders. So before people get involved in this, this is the type of thing they need to look at." Gardai have sent investigative files on the three Kinahan men to the Director of Public Prosecutions and have asked for them to be charged with a range of gangland offences that can carry life sentences. And a separate file on the murder of Eddie Hutch, the 58-year-old brother of Gerry "the Monk" Hutch who was shot dead by the cartel in February 2016, has also asked for Daniel to be charged. The files are currently being considered by the DPP – and Commissioner Harris declined on Monday to be drawn on the status of them. He said: "I can't talk to specific files or where we are in terms of the individuals or the directions - I won't talk to that. "All I can say is that through our own National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the investigations are active and our involvement, then through Europol, with the (UK's National Crime Agency), but also US federal law enforcement that continues to be active as well." Mr Harris made his comments less than a fortnight after the extradition from Dubai of McGovern, named by US authorities as Daniel Kinahan's right hand man. He is charged with one murder and four gangland offences. (Image: Mick O'Neill) He is charged with the murder of Christoper, aka Noel, Kirwan at St Ronan's Drive in Clondalkin in west Dublin on December 22, 2016. Mr Kirwan, 62, was shot dead in the driveway of his home. He was targeted by the Kinahan cartel after he was spotted with Gerry "the Monk" Hutch at the funeral of his brother Eddie. Mr McGovern is also charged with four gangland offences. It is alleged that between October 20, 2016 and December 22, 2016, he directed the activities of the criminal gang that murdered Mr Kirwan. It is also alleged that between the same dates he facilitated the crime gang's murder of Mr Kirwan. He faces a further two charges in relation to a murder attempt on James "Maggo" Gately, 36, a leading figure in the Hutch organised crime gang. It is alleged that between October 17, 2015 and April 6, 2017, he directed a criminal organisation in relation to the monitoring of activity of Mr Gately. It is further alleged that between the same dates, he facilitated a conspiracy to murder Mr Gately. McGovern is in custody in Portlaoise Prison and is due to appear at the non-jury Special Criminal Court later this month. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trucker arrested after €1m cannabis find told gardaí: ‘I'll smoke it tomorrow', court hears
'I'll smoke it tomorrow,' a lorry driver allegedly found transporting more than €1 million worth of cannabis told investigating gardaí, a court has heard. Andrew Cooley (32) from Ballyoran, Dundalk, Co Louth, was arrested at Dublin Port at 1.45am on Saturday driving a truck that had arrived on a boat from Holyhead. The father of two was charged with unlawful possession of 55.4kg of cannabis, with an estimated value of €1,108,000, for the purpose of sale or supply. On Monday, he appeared at Dublin District Court where Garda Dylan Mallon objected to bail due to flight risk concerns. READ MORE The garda alleged a customs officer engaged with Mr Cooley and smelled cannabis coming from the truck. A search of the cab allegedly led to finding black bags covered by clothes. The contested bail hearing was told there were 31 black packages allegedly containing cannabis. Gardaí took Mr Cooley to Store Street station and interviewed him several times. It was alleged he admitted ownership and told gardaí: 'I'll smoke it tomorrow.' The garda feared the accused would evade justice because he had travelled to Europe multiple times as a driver, and his work was transferable. Defence solicitor Luke Staines said information from his client's employer showed Mr Cooley had never gone to continental Europe and had only travelled in Ireland and England. The defence stressed that Mr Cooley has ties to Ireland and has children here, while there was nothing to suggest he would leave the jurisdiction. Mr Staines said his client could face two years on remand until his trial. The solicitor told the court the driver would obey conditions and furnish a satisfactory address. Judge Michele Finan reserved her decision on the bail application until Friday. She granted legal aid.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Be afraid, we are coming for you' - Garda chief sends warning to Kinahan trio
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has warned the surviving leaders of the Kinahan cartel: 'we are coming for you'. 'They should be worried,' Mr Harris said on Monday – 12 days after Daniel Kinahan's key confidant Sean McGovern was sent back from Dubai to face serious charges in his native Dublin, including murder. The three Kinahan men – Christy, 67, Daniel, 47 and Christopher 44 – are also holed up in Dubai and Mr Harris now says time is running out for them in the desert state of the United Arab Emirates. And he added: 'Ourselves and other law enforcement are fixed on them, and we are fixed on bringing them all to justice.' Speaking at Garda HQ in Dublin's Phoenix Park, Mr Harris warned the leaders – who like McGovern were hit with sanctions by United States authorities in April 2022 – were the subject of an unprecedented international law enforcement operation. He said: 'They should have been worried now for a number of years because there's huge effort, huge investigative effort, and international effort, has gone into the investigation of the overall Kinahan organised crime gang. 'A lot of things which they said couldn't be done, have been done. So following on from the sanctions, the work that we've undertaken with the UAE, and the work that specifically we've undertaken with the police in Dubai has been very fruitful. 'They have been very active partners with us in terms of investigation, providing us information, and obviously, UAE authorities have worked to support the extradition, and you see an individual then extradited back to Ireland to face justice here, and that's the correct thing to do.' The sanctions also saw each of the Kinahan trio have a bounty of $5 million placed on their heads – and Mr Harris told other members of the gang that they should consider turning their bosses in and taking the reward money. He said: 'I would also point out the other senior lieutenants within the Kinahan Organised Crime group who are now facing justice or are imprisoned, and the sanctions and the rewards still stand. 'And I would point to there's $15 million there of reward money through the federal law enforcement authorities of the US, so that is still in play as well. 'I just want to remind others in the Kinahan Organised Grime Gang of the perilous position that they're now in. 'So all of them should be worried, and they should be thinking about the choices, serious life choices that are now ahead of them, in respect of what to do over the coming months. Our work with the Dubai police obviously carries on.' And Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly – who oversaw much of the crackdown on the Kinahans when he was in charge of the force's serious crime operations – said that mid ranking members of the cartel had serious life decisions to take. 'Some of these people need to have a really good think,' he said. 'They have some serious life choices they can make. They have a choice to make. The rewards are in place.' He also said the May 29 extradition of Crumlin, south Dublin native McGovern, 39, showed that gardai were determined to hunt down major gangsters. Mr Kelly said: 'A number of years ago…myself and the commissioner were asked about this, and I think what we had said was, we would be relentless in our pursuit of some of these transnational organised crime groups. 'And I think the events last week as absolute evidence of that. 'And I think it's really important as well that everybody knows that there's other transnational organised crime groups outside the Kinahan OCG, and exactly the same for those. 'It doesn't matter where in the world they are. If there are charges here, we will seek to have them extradited back to Ireland. So extradition agreements, all the work by the Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, are really important to our organization. 'I'll just repeat that again. We will be absolutely relentless in our pursuit of these criminals.' And he said the international manhunt would not stop at the Kinahans – and pointed out that gardai had already dismantled two other gangs here. One is believed to be a gang from Blanchardstown in west Dublin that has been heavily targeted by gardai, while the other is thought to be the Family, a major outfit from Clondalkin. It has been targeted and degraded by gardai – as well as cops in Spain. Mr Kelly said: 'There are people that are involved in organised crime, and they need to look and see what the result of that is. 'We have absolutely dismantled two of the organised crime groups here in Dublin. 'At one stage, we had 47 members of one group in jail. 'So if you make those life choices and you want to become involved in this, the reality facing you is the full force of the state against you and investigations by specialist investigators, prosecutions, many of these cases end up in the Special Criminal Court. 'As you're all aware, there's been numerous lengthy sentences sent out for possession of drugs, firearms. Now we have substantial legislation around organised crime, directing and facilitating organised crime. 'So there's a huge range of powers we have. And even beyond that, we can see people who are convicted, their houses are now being subject to Criminal Assets Bureau orders. So before people get involved in this, this is the type of thing they need to look at.' Gardai have sent investigative files on the three Kinahan men to the Director of Public Prosecutions and have asked for them to be charged with a range of gangland offences that can carry life sentences. And a separate file on the murder of Eddie Hutch, the 58-year-old brother of Gerry 'the Monk' Hutch who was shot dead by the cartel in February 2016, has also asked for Daniel to be charged. The files are currently being considered by the DPP – and Commissioner Harris declined on Monday to be drawn on the status of them. He said: 'I can't talk to specific files or where we are in terms of the individuals or the directions - I won't talk to that. "All I can say is that through our own National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the investigations are active and our involvement, then through Europol, with the (UK's National Crime Agency), but also US federal law enforcement that continues to be active as well.' Mr Harris made his comments less than a fortnight after the extradition from Dubai of McGovern, named by US authorities as Daniel Kinahan's right hand man. He is charged with one murder and four gangland offences. He is charged with the murder of Christoper, aka Noel, Kirwan at St Ronan's Drive in Clondalkin in west Dublin on December 22, 2016. Mr Kirwan, 62, was shot dead in the driveway of his home. He was targeted by the Kinahan cartel after he was spotted with Gerry 'the Monk' Hutch at the funeral of his brother Eddie. Mr McGovern is also charged with four gangland offences. It is alleged that between October 20, 2016 and December 22, 2016, he directed the activities of the criminal gang that murdered Mr Kirwan. It is also alleged that between the same dates he facilitated the crime gang's murder of Mr Kirwan. He faces a further two charges in relation to a murder attempt on James 'Maggo' Gately, 36, a leading figure in the Hutch organised crime gang. It is alleged that between October 17, 2015 and April 6, 2017, he directed a criminal organisation in relation to the monitoring of activity of Mr Gately. It is further alleged that between the same dates, he facilitated a conspiracy to murder Mr Gately. McGovern is in custody in Portlaoise Prison and is due to appear at the non-jury Special Criminal Court later this month.
