Joint Policing Committee- Public Meeting
April 3rd, 2007The first public meeting of Letterkenny’s Joint Policing Committee (I’m Chairman of the JPC) took place last night. About thirty members of the public joined the committee members and Superintendent Vincent O’Brien, the recently-appointed district chief for the Letterkenny area, in the main auditorium of An Grianan Theatre.
We had questions submitted in advance from three groups- the IFA, Letterkenny IT’s Motor Club and the Action Campaign for Education Against Road Tragedies (A-CEART). After we discussed those questions, I opened the meeting up for questions and submissions from those who attended the meeting.
I’m very happy with how it went. Yes, there could have been more people in attendance, but the important thing for me is that the people who attended got something from the meeting, and contributed to it. That definitely happened. This is the first meeting of its kind to be held in Letterkenny, and among the first in the country, so we where not sure how it was going to go. I would hope we can have our next meeting again in the near future, to built on the success of last nights first meeting.
Most interesting for me was Supt O’Brien’s announcement of an increase in the Community Policing programme in Letterkenny. Previously, the programme was limited to the Glencar/Ballyboe area of the town, and saw up to three Guards tasked with working with people in the area, on a personal and organisational level. Supt O’Brien has now said that each member of the Gardai in the town will be assigned a particular housing estate or area, with the task of getting to know the people in the estate and to respond to their problems. The major success of Community Policing comes from letting people get to know members of the Gardai, so that they feel they have someone they can turn to. It makes the Gardai more approachable, and builds roots within the community for the Gardai.
Supt O’Brien’s move to extend the scheme should bring great benefits throughout the town. I look forward to working with Vincent in my roles as a Councillor, and through the Joint Policing Committee. Letterkenny needs active policing, working to deal with issues before they arise. The Gardai are willing to do this, all they need is support from the community to work with them. The JPC has a part to play in this, as does Supt O’Brien’s new Community Policing programme.