Senator Ollie Crowe this week called for all Gardai to be provided with tasers and bodycams, so they are best equipped to defend themselves. He has written to the Minister of Justice requesting Government gives strong consideration to this.
He said the job of gardai has become increasingly difficult and dangerous in recent years and there have been more than 2,000 Gardai assaulted on duty over the last seven years.
Senator Crowe said 285 officers were assaulted last year — a significant increase on the 243 assaults committed against Gardai in 2021.
“In other words, this is becoming more or less a daily occurrence at this stage. That is simply unacceptable. We must resource Gardai effectively so they are capable of doing their job. The Garda Representative Association have previously called for body cams and tasers to be issued to all gardaí and I believe it is time that was done,” he said.
Legislation implemented earlier this year increased the maximum sentence for assaulting a garda or emergency service worker has been increased from seven to 12 years. Senator Crowe said whilst this was a welcome step, more was needed to ensure Gardai were as safe as possible carrying out their work.
Currently, it is only members of the armed response units who have tasers and gardai in rural areas can be waiting for more than two hours for armed response units to arrive on site.
Senator Crowe said that Gardai are frequently confronting people armed with knives and other weapons and that the baton and pepper spray Gardai have traditionally been armed with are no longer sufficient to protect themselves, particularly in situations where they are outnumbered.
