Come To Cork

Law & Order

The Irish police force is called An Garda Síochána – which, when translated from the Irish language, means “the peace keepers”.

It is the only police force in the country and is responsible for State security as well as all criminal matters and the enforcement of traffic laws.

There are 11,747 Gardaí in Ireland, including approximately 1,700 detectives and more than 1,000 civilian support staff.

Unlike most European police forces, Irish uniformed policemen do not carry firearms and it is a tradition of the force that urban as well as rural policing is carried out by highly trained, unarmed officers – although plainclothes detectives are allowed to carry guns in certain circumstances. As the first Garda Commissioner, Michael Staines put it: The Garda Síochána will succeed, not by force of arms or numbers, but by their moral authority as servants of the people.

The Irish police place much emphasis on community policing and operate

• Crime-prevention and fraud-prevention programmes to help reduce the incidence of crime
• A support service for victims of crime which is staffed by officers specially trained to work with people who have been hurt by crime
• Schools programmes for both primary and secondary schools aimed at reaching out to young people to encourage them to become responsible adults
• Neighbourhood watch and community alert schemes in which communities play a part in policing their own neighbourhoods
• A monthly TV programme called Crimecall, where Gardaí enlist the assistance of the public in solving crimes

Overall, Irish police officers are very friendly and approachable, if you find yourself in difficulty, contact them and they will do their best to help you. In an emergency, ring 999 or 112 and ask to be put through to the Gardaí.

The Garda headquarters in Cork is in Anglesea Street, there are a further 15 stations in the Cork Metropolitan area and over 70 stations in towns all across County Cork.