The number of Gardai operating from Boyle Garda Station is around similar to the numbers pre Covid.
This information was provided at Monday’s meeting of Roscommon Joint Policing Committee by Chief Superintendent Ray McMahon.
It followed on from a query raised by Public Participation Representative on the committee Brian Nerney who said there was a ‘perception locally’ that Garda numbers in Boyle station had decreased and he queried if that was the reason why there seemed to be less Gardai visible around the town than in previous years.
Chief Superintendent McMahon added that there was a vacancy that needed to be filled in Boyle following the retirement of a Sergeant but other than that, numbers had not changed greatly.
The geographical area that Garda members attached to Boyle station had to cover was also raised as an area of concern by the committee members from Boyle.
The opening hours at Boyle station was queried once again with Councillor John Cummins asking if there were members in the station when the doors were closed to the public.
Chief Superintendent McMahon said the logic behind the reduced hours was to get more Gardai out in public and on the streets and he confirmed that during the closed period there are no members in Boyle station.
Councillor Pascal Fitzmaurice outlined a situation recently where a person in Castlerea had observed a suspicious vehicle and when they called the local Garda Station to report this, they were redirected to Galway. He queried if this was the position going forward.
The Chief Superintendent confirmed it was and that under the new operating model, emergency calls were directed to Galway where the call taker had sight of all marked and unmarked Garda vehicles in the region and they could then allocate the nearest vehicle and members to the area of concern.
Members of the committee wonder if this model would realistically work, with PPN representative Brian Nerney saying problems previously existed in Boyle where calls were diverted to Castlerea when Boyle station was closed with the members in Castlerea not familiar with the local townlands detailed in the call, which led to confusion on occasion.
