Surge in violent crime emphasises need to protect garda resources – Collins

The Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Justice Niall Collins has said the disturbing increase in violent crime revealed by the CSO today further emphasises the need to protect community garda resources and support frontline members of the force.

Reacting to the latest crime figures, Deputy Collins again called for a radical change in attitude from the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.

“Minister Shatter has already lost the confidence of members of the gardaí and unless we see a radical change in his approach very soon, he risks turning this into a full scale crisis,” said Deputy Collins.

“The bottom line is that Minister Shatter’s policing policies are not working. Communities feel more vulnerable than ever and these latest CSO statistics confirm why that is. People just cannot understand how the Minister can justify dismantling the community garda infrastructure and undermining frontline members of the force at every turn. This is at a time when violent crime is increasing and we clearly still have a major burglary problem in some parts of the country.

“The Minister’s destructive and dismissive approach needs to stop. He needs to wake up and see what is going on in communities and in the garda force that he is supposed to represent. He needs to stop ignoring the very real concerns of gardaí who put themselves on the line every day to keep our streets safe, and the concerns members of the community who have suffered as a result of his misguided cuts. He needs to look at these latest crime figures, look at what is happening in the garda force and start listening.”