More Gardaí for northside

There has been some good news for Cork’s police-starved suburbs with extra resources expected to arrive in December.

The news came at a Cork city North West community safety forum in Hollyhill on Tuesday night where local residents raised concerns over a general lack of Garda presence in Cork’s northside.

Responding to the concerns, Superintendent Mick McGuire confirmed that extra Gardaí were earmarked for Cork over the coming months.

The extra Gardaí are hoped to complete a new model of policing currently being tested in Cork which calls for two sergeants and 20 Gardaí to be in place in the city’s northside.

Currently, according to the Superintendent, there are two sergeants and 14 Gardaí in operation in the area.

Speaking at the community safety forum, Superintendent McGuire said: “It's a new kind of policing. We're on the cutting edge in Cork. It's early stages yet and there are some bumps in the road ahead. At the moment we've two sergeants and 14 Gardaí so we're even off the mark.”

The superintendent then explained that the reason for the shortage was due to resources being deployed elsewhere in the country where their services were deemed to be required more urgently.

Residents attending the meeting voiced concerns over what they described as “gangs running in packs” in the area, with one resident claiming that the northside of the city was totally neglected when it came to policing.

Also attending the forum was local Fianna Fáil Cllr Tony Fitzgerald who said that the area badly needed more community Gardaí.

He said: “We are short two community Gardaí for a long, long time. We need them back with us ASAP. They should never have been moved. This is a very urgent issue for us.”

The next community safety forum for Cork city North West will take place early in the new year.