Nenagh policing initiative will see more gardaí on the beat

The once familiar sight of the garda on the beat in towns and villages is about to return under a new initiative to be launched for the Nenagh Garda Division this Friday.

The local gardaí are set to launch Community Beats 202 this Friday, a community policing initiative that will see members of the force on foot and on bicycles in towns, villages, streets and housing estates in the hope of forging closer relationships with the communities they serve.

“We understand that there is a public desire for more visible and accessible policing and this is a measure to meet that demand,” said Supt Andrew Lacey, announcing the project.

Supt Lacey, who is originally from Tipp Town, said foot patrols, with their high visibility approach, have historically been a central feature of policing as a preventative measure.

The gardaí has come in for significant criticism in the past number of years over a perceived lack of gardaí on the beat in towns and villages. But Community Beats look set to address those concerns.

“The initiative will encourage our gardaí to embrace short beat patrols in areas of high density such as public parks, amenities, schools, retail areas, town centre’s, residential estates and villages within the district,” Supt Lacey said.

He said foot patrols were intimately associated with community policing.

Expanding on the initiative about to be rolled out for the summer in towns and villages stretching from Roscrea to Newport, Supt Lacey said: “These beat patrols will allow accessibility to members of An Garda Síochána normally only experienced in first responder situations or exclusively as witnesses to confrontational situations.”

The initiative is about strengthening a community-based style, and, hopefully, over the summer we will get a sense of the public perceptions and feedback on its roll-out, he said.

Where a beat is taking the public are encouraged to approach gardaí if they have a concern or a problem, or just for a chat.

"It is hoped that increases in foot patrols will be more responsive to the local communities and that matters are addressed at ground level in the first instance,” he said.

Supt Lacey revealed that bicycle patrols will be part of the initiative and the District Garda patrol van will be deployed to afford an additional element of visibility in communities being visited.

The deployment of the van would also mean accessible policing as it would be used for the dissemination of leaflets, flyers and application forms that would otherwise have to be obtained through a journey to a Garda station.

The roll-out of this Community Beats plan comes at a time when the force locally is working towards a multi-agency strategy in partnership with Tipperary County Council on a wide variety of issues that have emerged at “community safety” and Joint Policing Committee meetings.

Under the initiative, the district headquarters in Nenagh will be used as a point of contact for the public making enquiries or raising issues of concern in their communities.

Supt Lacey is encouraging community groups to reach out to arrange a visit by members of the force to their town, village, parish or housing estate.

He said his officers would love to meet local community groups, men’s sheds, nursing homes, schools, businesses and other community establishments within parishes.

To make contact to arrange a visit by members of the force email Nenagh.DS@garda.ie referencing Community Beats 2022.
The visits to local communities will take place every Friday, alternating each week between routes covering the southern end of the district (Route 1) and the northern end, Route 2.

Additional resources were being allocated to ensure the primary role of specific members of the force on any given Friday would be on the community beats.

He said these officers would be dedicated to the community visit and would not be put back on other daily call unless the situated was critical and demanded it.

Supt Lacey and his colleagues in the Nenagh District had identified four distinct beat patrol models will endeavor to follow under the new initiative.

These are: Community engagement; citizen contact; deterrent and familiarity.