Garda (Police) Racial, Intercultural and Diversity Office (GRIDO)
In announcing the establishment of the Garda Racial and Intercultural Office (now the Garda Racial, Intercultural and Diversity Office) in 2000, the then Garda Commissioner outlined its key function as being "to advise, monitor and co-ordinate all policing activity around racial, ethnic, religious and cultural diversity". The Garda Racial and Intercultural Office can be contacted at Tel: +353 1 6663150/3817 or at Fax:+353 1 6663801.The Garda Síochána has in place an Ethnic Liaison Officer system (E.L.O.'s) which provides training and support for the 400 Garda ethnic liaison officers throughout the State and is a positive indicator of the organisation’s commitment to Ethnic and Cultural Diversity as a strategic goal. Anyone reporting that they have been the victim of a racist incident will be informed by the Gardaí of the designated Garda Ethnic Liaison Officer in their area.
European Commission Award
On the 21st of March 2000, the Garda Racial and Intercultural Office were presented with a thirty thousand Euros innovation prize by the European Commission. This award was in recognition of work already under taken by the Garda organisation in raising awareness around racism and related issues.
Diversity Strategy and Implementation Plan 2009-2012
An Garda Síochána (Police Force) published a Diversity Strategy and Implementation Plan 2009-2010 entitled "Beyond Legal Compliance" in May 2009. The Plan sets out how the Garda Síochána (Police Force) will deliver on its commitment to embrace all aspects of policing and diversity. The Diversity Strategy was developed following extensive research and widespread consultation with key internal and external stakeholders. This Strategy is dual focused, in that it sets out organisational priorities to manage diversity within both the Garda (Police) workplace and the communities that the Gardaí (Police) serve.
Intercultural Ireland - Identifying the Challenges for the Police Service
The Office has completed an EU funded programme entitled "Intercultural Ireland, Identifying the Challenges for the Police Service". This was a five-stranded programme which included:
- A European exchange programme
- A Conference
- The establishment of an ethnic relations forum
- The development of a Garda training/ education strategy
- The production of a Garda training video.
An initiative currently being explored by the Garda (Police) Racial and Intercultural office is the development of a network of contact individuals within the many minority ethnic communities in Ireland. Other ongoing initiatives include the quarterly production of a Garda (Police) Racial and Intercultural Newsletter together with developing awareness raising campaigns on racial and ethnic issues.
Information Booklet
In 2002, the Gardaí (Police) published Your Police Service in Intercultural Ireland', a source of information for all minorities in Ireland aimed at facilitating an understanding of the role of An Garda Síochána (Irish Police Force). The booklet gives a brief guide to the police service, those aspects of Irish law which affect people in their daily lives, what they can expect if they have a complaint to make and what structures are there to deal with such complaints. This booklet is available in 12 languages at the webpage of the Garda Racial and Intercultural Office.
Crime Prevention Advice
An Garda Síochána, with the financial assistance of the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration, has published a number of crime prevention and community safety information sheets for migrants. These sheets provide information on road safety, personal security at home and within the community, advice on securing possession, information about substance abuse as well as useful contacts. They are available in the following languages: French, Latvian, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian and Spanish.
Website (www.nicnewcommunities.ie)
A website www.nicnewcommunities.ie developed by An Garda Síochána Dublin Metropolitan Regional North Central Division aims to provide people from the new communities with a channel of communication to express their viewsand to build relationships between the new communities, An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council. It won an award at the Media and Multicultural Awards in November 2008.
National Garda Consultation Day
The Garda Racial, Intercultural and Diversity Office hold a Diversity Consultation Day annually. This Diversity Consultation Day is one of the key events in both the Office and the Garda Community Relations & Community Policing Division’s calendar. The 2011 Consultation Day was held in Farmleigh House on 24 March 2011.
The objective of the day is to meet directly and engage with, the representative organisations, personnel and leaders of a wide spectrum of communities within Ireland. The attendees are given an opportunity to discuss issues affecting their communities and, through the use of focus groups, help shape and influence Garda policy, strategy and procedures relating to diverse matters. A report outlining the findings of the focus groups will be forwarded to the Chairperson of the Diversity Strategy Board.
The next consultation day will be held on March 22nd 2012 in Dublin Castle. Entry to this event is by invitation only. Contact diversity@garda.ie
Garda Training
The Continuous Professional Development Programme at the Garda OutsourceTraining Centre in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary offers a specialised training course on Ethnic Liaison. Garda Local Continuous Professional Development Centres include modules on Cultural Diversity in their programmes.
Racial profiling
As indicated by Mr. Alan Shatter, T.D, Minister for Justice and Equality at the Universal Periodic Review examination of Ireland in Geneva on 6 October 2011, An Garda Síochána does not engage in racial profiling.
It is also worth noting that, in response to queries raised by Ireland about the methodology used in the Fundamental Rights Agency EU- MIDIS survey - Mapping discrimination- European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey 2009, the Head of the Freedoms and Justice Department of the Fundamental Rights Agency replied as follows:
"I would also like you to consider one result regarding police stops; namely: although Sub Saharan Africans in Ireland had, overall the highest rate of stops in the past 12 months- at the same time, compared with other groups with high rates of stops, relatively few of the Sub- Saharan Africans who were stopped in Ireland felt that the police stopped them because of their ethnicity.
The survey's findings on police stops were presented in October 2010 at the Irish police training college in Templemore, and were positively received for indicating that very few Sub- Saharan Africans who were stopped considered they were profiled by the police in a discriminatory way- hence there are also positive results from the survey (in comparison with other countries) concerning Sub Saharan Africans in Ireland. In this regard, the agency considers the work of the Irish police in the field of diversity and non -discrimination to be a good practice example; the results of which are reflected in the low levels of reported discriminatory police profiling noted by Sub Saharan Africans."
(Source : Fundamental Rights Agency letter 2010.)
Non-Irish national members of the Force
The recruitment of full-time Gardaí is governed by the Garda Síochána (Admissions and Appointments) Regulations 1988. In 2005, the regulations were amended to facilitate greater diversity in the membership of the Garda Síochána. Recruitment of foreign nationals was made easier by modifying the requirement to have Leaving Certificate qualifications in both English and Irish. Recruits now only require the equivalent of a Leaving Certificate qualification in either language. In addition to EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, recruitment is also now open to non-European nationals who have resided in Ireland for five years.
The number of non-Irish national full-time trainees and full-time attested members of the Force are as follows: [
 |
| 1 |
|
| 6 |
|
| 1 |
|
| 20 |
|
| 1 |
|
| 1 |
|
| 9 |
|
| 2 |
|
| 1 |
|
| 1 |
|
| 2 |
| TOTAL (at 12/06/09) | 46 |
Garda (Police) Reserve
There are currently 39 non Irish nationals in the Garda (Police) Reserve including 12 attested members and 27 in training. These members are from the following countries, Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Germany, India, Japan, Kurdistan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.
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