Senior officers from both An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland will be in the Dáil tomorrow to discuss rural crime.

The Joint Committee on Justice and Equality will hear from Garda Assistant Commissioner Patrick Leahy and PSNI Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Alan Todd, who oversees 11 policing districts across the North.

“I look forward to the attendance of senior officers of both An Garda Síochána and the PSNI before the Oireachtas Justice Committee to address the important issues of community policing and rural crime,” said committee chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD.

Challenges

“An Garda Síochána and the PSNI face many common challenges in providing a police service in villages and rural communities where, in many cases, the nearest police stations have been closed and officers may have to balance wider patrolling responsibilities with deskbound duties,” Deputy Ó Caoláin said. 

“Their engagement will allow us to address these pressing matters on an all-island basis,” he continued.

“It is most welcome, and a sign of how much progress we have made on this island since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, that ACC Alan Todd is part of our discussions,” Deputy Ó Caoláin said.

“His involvement reflects the progress made towards greater all-Ireland co-operation that is more and more becoming an accepted part of life on this island – a new normalcy to be appreciated and built upon.

Scope

“The committee hopes to identify recommendations for improving the scope, resourcing and effectiveness of community and rural policing by drawing on police experiences from all parts of Ireland, and in their shared address of cross-border crime.”