Gardaí assaulted by prisoners being transported in inappropriate vehicles
Prison Larry Van Court In Prisoner Use Transfer Appearances Picture: For For Cummins File A
Violent prisoners are assaulting gardaí when they are forced to transport them in inappropriate vehicles without protective barriers.
A female garda was kicked in the back of the head when there was no van available and no barrier in the patrol car, Detective Garda Mark Ferris, central executive committee member with the Garda Representative Association (GRA), said.
Another female officer suffered “horrific injuries” while dealing with a prisoner who had been transported back to Blanchardstown who, once in the station, bit through her uniform and into her leg, he said.
The female officer was worried about developing an infection after the assault and was apprehensive about returning to work.
Det Garda Ferris said three gardaí have been assaulted when transporting prisoners in inappropriate vehicles recently in west Dublin.
Gardaí are also being spat at by prisoners in vehicles without protective barriers, he said.
The GRA conference in Westport called on the Garda commissioner to introduce a policy regarding the
transport of prisoners in vehicles not fitted with a physical separation from the driver.
"The health, safety, and welfare of members must be moved to the forefront as we try to make An Garda Síochána a more appealing choice for prospective recruits and an organisation that better protects its employees," Det Garda Ferris said.
"I endorse this motion as we all know that assaults on officers can have devastating consequences for many of our members.
“It is infuriating that many members still have to transport prisoners in saloon or hatchback cars with no proper separation in place.
“With €16.8m invested in fleet procurement and maintenance, this simply isn't good enough.
"Relying on the cooperation of offenders who can be high on drugs is not a safety-oriented strategy.
“Transport needs to be fit for purpose and fully resourced so that cage-equipped vans are more widely available."
He also said that an increase in electric vehicles in the Garda fleet is a concern, with no dedicated fast charging infrastructure installed in any Garda station.
“How can officers tasked with responding to an urgent call wait for hours for their car's battery to charge?”
Detective Garda Niall Hodgins, newly elected vice president of the GRA, said that morale in the force is at an all-time low.
Referring to the Dublin riots last November, Det Garda Hodgins said that historically, all gardaí received some basic public order training and left Templemore with a helmet.
But on the night of the Dublin riots, many newer Garda members had no public order training, no head protection, and one garda lost a toe due to defective Garda-issued boots that failed to protect his foot.
“To send police into a situation like that where they’re wearing soft caps, the archaic soft caps, is to me not right.”