The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Michael McDowell, T. D., today published the preliminary results of research which he commissioned into the public's attitude to crime and law enforcement.  The general conclusion of the research is that the public strongly supports current policy to increase the number of Gardaí on our streets, the establishment of a Garda Reserve and the employment of civilians in Garda Stations to release more Gardaí for patrol duties.

Commenting on the research results the Minister said "I am pleased to see that the public supports the thrust of my current policies.  My aim is to ensure that the number of Gardaí on our streets is maximised and that the proposed Garda Reserve is properly vetted, trained and organised on the basis of best international practice. 

I am particularly pleased at the very strong public support (73%) for my proposal to establish the Garda Reserve.

While the number of crimes per head of population is significantly lower now than it was 10 years ago it should be no surprise that people continue to have a fear of crime.  For this reason I have increased the budget of An Garda Síochána by 39% to over 1.3 billion Euro; I am putting huge numbers of extra Gardaí on our streets and; I will shortly have in place strong legislative measures to deal with, in particular, gun crime and anti social behaviour."

The main conclusions of the research are:

• Support for the Garda Reserve initiative amongst the public is widespread at 73% with 50% "strongly" supporting the initiative.  Only 12% strongly object and 7% tend to object to the initiative.  Levels of support are largely consistent across age, socio-economic class and regional divisions.
• A high awareness of the Garda Reserve exists with 73% of respondents aware of the Garda Reserve initiative, with older respondents displaying the highest awareness.
• Of those who had heard of the initiative, the majority were quite well informed about the individual elements of the initiative. However, most respondents did not realise that the Garda Reserve will have the same educational standards as recruits to the full-time Gardaí.
• Less than two-thirds were aware that the Garda Reserve legislation was passed in the Dáil with cross party support.
• Just under half (47%) believe that the Garda Reserve will bring the Gardaí closer to the community with 18% neither agreeing/disagreeing. 50% of respondents believe that the Reserve will help strengthen the roots of the Gardaí in the community.
• Furthermore, 81% would support the increased use of civilians in Garda offices, with the over 55 age bracket providing the strongest support.
• While the survey showed public concern about crime and public order maintenance - 11% not particularly concerned, 34% fairly concerned and 51% very concerned - when asked about their level of satisfaction with the Garda presence in their area, 51% claimed to be either very satisfied or fairly satisfied, while 40% were dissatisfied. 66% believe that Gardaí have adequate local knowledge, a belief which correlates with lower concerns about crime and public order maintenance.
• Regarding levels of crime in their area compared to ten years ago 25% stated they were about the same, 5% stated there had been a decrease and 66% said there had been an increase.
• Approximately half those asked believed that the Gardaí who police their area live locally, though in urban areas, and indeed Dublin, less believed this to be so.
• Over three quarters feel that there are too few Gardaí patrolling the streets in general. Those who were most concerned about crime rates were more likely to be of this opinion. Among those who perceived the Garda presence to be too modest, the preference was for increased foot patrol, although patrol by car was also a popular option, especially among those living in rural areas.

The survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,009 adults aged 15+ was conducted by tns mrbi in the past two weeks. A full analysis of the survey will be published shortly.

22 March 2006