Silent nights at garda stations

TWO of Clare’s five 24-hour garda stations, Killaloe and Ennistymon, will close at night in the future, Chief Superintendent John Kerin has revealed.
Garda stations in Ennis, Shannon, Kilrush, Ennistymon and Killaloe currently operate around the clock and the major reduction in operating hours for two of the main district headquarters in East and North Clare is regarded by some community activists as yet another blow for policing.
Superintendent Kerin confirmed at a public meeting in Broadford on Monday night that Ennistymon and Killaloe Garda Stations will be closing at 9pm in the future and reopening at 7am. The only time these stations will be opened at night is if a prisoner has to be kept overnight.
No official date has been announced for the night-time closures. There are about 30 gardaí in Killaloe Garda Station, including Inspector John O’Sullivan, who has been acting superintendent for the last two years and another 30 approximately in Ennistymon, including Superintendent Derek Smart.
Clare’s Garda Chief explained only a handful of people call into these garda stations between 9pm and 7am on official business.
When these two stations are closed at night, Superintendent Kerin stressed the garda who was previously doing paperwork would be redeployed on patrol and would still be able to respond to any calls that are directed through the new communication centre.
“I would prefer if that garda was out and about patrolling the locality. That is more effective than having a garda desk-bound, doing paperwork. There will always be five or six gardaí working around the clock in the Killaloe Garda Division and all calls will still be dealt with on a priority basis,” he said.
Community activists were also surprised to learn this week that the eight garda stations in Quin, Inagh, Lahinch, Broadford, Mountshannon, Doonbeg, Kilmihil and Labasheeda have to be closed before January 31. There are 27 garda stations in Clare. With one having closed last year, there will be 18 by the end of January.
Clare Deputy Timmy Dooley has also expressed fears that these eight locations could become a target for travelling criminals.
While a number of organisations have made representations to the OPW to allow them use Carrigaholt Garda Station, the building remains idle since it closed in October 2011.
Superintendent Kerin confirmed he had no option but to close these stations at the request of Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan and Justice Minister Alan Shatter, regardless of whether he agreed or disagreed with these measures.
“There are some garda stations closing that I don’t know the rationale for and I would have closed other stations before them,” he said.
Crime trends, callers to the station, phone calls, crime levels and the distance from other garda stations are among the criteria used to determine station closures.
While Deputy Dooley supports the general policing principle that gardaí are better off out on patrol, instead of being confined to stations, he warned that once a station is closed, the necessity to have a garda in this building at some point during the day is lost.
Following reports of plans to reduce garda numbers, the Fianna Fáil deputy warned there will be pressure put on various districts to deploy resources to areas of greatest need, which would make it increasingly difficult to continue patrols in rural parts of Clare.
“This is the thin end of the wedge. The closure of a station is a first step. If a garda doesn’t get to show up on a Wednesday or Thursday, next week he could be deployed somewhere else. Neighbourhood Watch is no replacement for garda policing. The perception when a station is open to travelling criminals is that they have a possibility of getting caught. If a garda station closes and gardaí move, the perception is that the area is an easy target. When perception continues over a period of time, it becomes a reality,” he warned.
The chief superintendent predicted the new centralised communication centre in each garda region would improve service delivery. When a call comes in, a controller would be able to tell a garda where that building is situated working off GPS co-ordinates.
He admitted the biggest danger for gardaí is the loss of local knowledge and contact.
“One crime is one crime too many. We had two aggravated burglaries in West Clare recently, which were terrible, horrible crimes. I feel confident we will get the perpetrators of those crimes,” he said.
Forty-eight Clare gardaí of all ranks have left since March 2010 and have not been replaced. Two gardaí in Ennis left last week and a few more have indicated they will be going over the coming months.
Coming from Carron in the heart of the Burren, Chief Superintendent Kerin said his father always spoke about the importance of having garda stations in Carron, New Quay, Fanore, Maurice’s Mills and Kilfenora, which are all closed.
“A garda station in an area will not prevent crime, it is the garda in the area that will detect crime. Being from a rural community, I know what it is like to see post offices and garda stations closing. People feel Big Brother is impacting on them. I prefer to have gardaí on the streets on foot patrols and checkpoints than inside in garda stations, where there are only two or three people calling in over a lengthy period of time.
“The number of people calling to garda stations is miniscule, compared to what it was 15 years ago. A lot of fines can be paid in post offices and banks,” he concluded.