Uniformed gardaí to do 30-minutes of 'high-visibility roads policing' under new directive

The move follows hard-hitting comments by the head of the Road Safety Authority, Liz O’Donnell, on Monday, who said there needed to be a significant ramping-up of visible enforcement to combat bad driver behaviour.

She said: "It's the missing link. It's what we need. Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement."

Ms O’Donnell said that while a 20% increase in GoSafe speed cameras last year was welcome, another 20% was required this year.

The strength of the Garda Traffic Corps has fallen by 17% in the last ten years, from 804 members in 2013 to 664 at the close of 2023.

In response to queries from the Irish Examiner, Garda HQ said the Commissioner has told his senior managers to direct members to conduct 30 minutes of roads policing in their shift.

“Our members continue to face lots of policing challenges in the communities we serve and our successes in detecting crimes is evidenced on a daily basis,” the commissioner said. 

“This serves to reassure our communities of our commitment and ability to keep people safe.” 

But he said: “Despite our collective efforts to date, there continues to be an increase in fatalities on our roads. I recognise the impact of this on families and friends, whom have lost loved ones. I am conscious of the impact this places on members of An Garda Síochána involved in such tragic investigations.” 

He said that during 2023, An Garda Síochána issued over 141,000 FCNs (fixed charge notices). He said that in the first two months of 2024, there were:

• 6418 FCNs issued for speed offences with a further; 
• 14,835 issued by Safety Camera Vans;
• 7647 checkpoints;
• 878 arrests for drink driving offences and 488 arrests for drug driving offences;
• 3129 FCNs issued for driving while holding their mobile phone;
• 700 FCNs issued for non-wearing of a seatbelt.

He said a number of national initiatives were in train to enhance the use of technology to support road policing efforts.

The police chief said the roll out of the traffic and mobility apps to all gardaí had made vehicle, driver and insurance information more accessible to front line policing.

“Our members are actively utilising modern technology in this area of policing with almost 20,000 vehicles checked in one-week last month,” he said, adding there was also an ongoing review of equipment and fleet.

“There has been much comment about the numbers of gardaí committed to roads policing duties,” the commissioner said. 

“Each member of An Garda Síochána is involved in roads policing with almost two thirds of detections for driving under the influence of an intoxicant detected by members of An Garda Síochána attached to front line core units.” 

But he said that given the rise in fatal road traffic collisions, the organisation must continue to adapt policing initiatives to increase safety on the roads.

He said international police forces use all police officers to focus an element of their shift in traffic environment and that this approach complemented increased visibility and compliance by motorists for road traffic legislation.

“Therefore, with immediate effect, each Regional Assistant Commissioner will utilise all uniform personnel, core and non-core, deploying them on high visibility roads policing operations, of 30 minutes’ duration in each tour of duty," he said.

“Supervisors will ensure compliance with this direction, with the exception of where exigencies of the service arise.” 

Commissioner Harris added: “Increasing our members’ awareness of why this roads policing enforcement is important and focusing all of our members on regular daily efforts, we should further increase our impact on roads safety and compliance by those using our road networks.

“This increased presence will also support our efforts to detect other crimes which rely on our road networks, such as criminal gangs travelling to commit burglaries, human trafficking and drug distribution offences.”