Government’s “Transport Security Force” model would still rely on Garda assistance

— Ireland would be better following countries where national police have a transport police division, says user group.

Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, today made a public statement affirming the Government’s commitment to the establishment of a “Transport Security Force” with similar powers to Airport Police, but public transport users groups have said different approaches could be more effective, less legally complicated, and would mean that Ireland’s new transport police would not always have to call the Gardaí for backup.

The Department of Transport said today that the current plan for a transport police, which is being dubbed “Transport Security Force”, would “operate in a similar manner, and have similar powers, to Airport Police and Customs Officers.”.

The Airport Police have limited powers to detain people and rely on Gardaí to hand over people suspected of crimes and to investigate cases. A very clear illustration of the limitations of Airport Police powers is that a new 24-hour Garda station was opened at Dublin Airport in 2022.

Similar to how the Airport Police operate under the DAA, the operator of Dublin, Shannon, and Cork airports, the plan is for the new transport police to operate under the National Transport Authority.

Minister O’Brien issued a statement after a meeting yesterday of the Public Transport Safety Working Group, which was set up last year to identify measures to improve passenger and staff safety.

He welcomed what he called the group’s “strong cross-sectoral collaboration and efforts to date”. The Department of Transport said the group includes representatives from across the public transport sector, including the National Transport Authority, unions, An Garda Síochána, the Department of Justice, and passenger representative groups.

But two of Ireland’s main passenger user groups have said the approach being taken could be better if it a dedicated unit within the Gardaí, possibly based on the British Transport Police.

The British Transport Police is independent of local police forces in the UK, but Ireland, unlike the UK, has a single general, country-wide police force. In effect, the approach being called for would be similar to that taken in countries such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands, with dedicated transport police divisions within national or federal police forces.

Jason Cullen, chair of Dublin Commuters, a group which advocates for sustainable transport, “open to an airport police style solution for the moment” but said a British Transport Police-style unit “would certainly be simpler.”

He said: “Short-term, we’ve been calling for increased action from An Garda Siochana, including with plain clothed officers on board public transport while the dedicated unit is formed.”

“The new security force will be similar to airport police, they’ll have the power to arrest, but not investigate incidents, which will be done by the appropriate department of an Garda Siochana,” he said.

“It’s still to be discussed what those powers would actually look like, but for the moment, it appears that the goal of properly resourced security personnel on board all forms of public transport is what’s being worked towards,” Cullen said.

He said: “This will require new primary legislation which will definitely take a while to get through the Dail, which is why we’ve been requesting increased action in the meantime.”

Cullen said that there “seems to be a resistance” to making the new entity a dedicated unit of An Garda Siochana, although the reason for this is unclear and hasn’t been communicated clearly to the Public Transport Safety Working Group, which Dublin Commuters is a member of.

He said: “For all intents and purposes, if we move towards safer public transport, then we’re open to an airport police style solution for the moment.” Asked if they would prefer to see the unit styled on the British Transport Police, he said, “It would certainly be simpler.”

Mark Gleeson, a spokesperson for Rail Users Ireland, is clearer on the need for the transport police to be implemented under the umbrella of An Garda Siochana.

He said: “Rail Users Ireland has campaigned for over A decade for a transport police and welcome this progress. However, the time for talking is long over; we need a dedicated group of Gardaí assigned to public transport deployed immediately.”

He said that, at the very least, there should be a uniformed presence at all main stations and interchanges.

“The powers granted should be full garda powers and allow sufficient scope to exercise those powers, they should not be limited to stations trains and stops, the ability to pursue and also to arrest anywhere,” he said.

These powers he said would allow the unit to follow up on anything from anti-social behaviour to vandalism or even the likes of cable theft, which is a problem for Irish Rail.

Gleeson said: “The British Transport Police should be the template, proven solution operating in a similar legal environment to Ireland. The last thing we want to see is for the transport security simply having to call the gardai every time they detain someone.”

“It’s also a lot simpler to have a garda transport corp,” he said. “If you create a separate transport security force a mountain of legislation needs to be amended to grant powers. It’s in everyone’s interest that the officers are trained and attested as gardai it is the most effective approach and the one the public will buy into

He said there might be a misconception that this is about checking tickets, but he said: “We are not just looking at fare evasion and anti-social behaviour. Drug deals, violence, cable theft, level crossing misuse, bridge strikes etc. If we do this, we need to do it right and address the entire space.”

He said transport companies should provide additional training and orientation to ensure effective and safe deployment, for example, covering situations around active railways.

The Department of Transport said that the establishment of the Transport Security Force “will play a central role in helping to tackle” “safety or security incidents” on the public transport network.

A statement today said that Minister O’Brien said to the meeting yesterday that the Department of Transport has “already begun work to identify the necessary legislative proposals and alterations to enable the establishment of the Transport Security Force,” and he also “highlighted the important role that the Group will play in the planning and implementation of this important commitment.”

Minister O’Brien said: “The establishment of the Transport Security Force is a high priority for Government. I fully support all ongoing positive work, including the meetings of this Group, that contributes towards creating a safer public transport network for staff and passengers.”

Clarification: This article originally had a line “The British Transport Police is independent of local police forces in the UK, but Ireland, unlike the UK, has a single, country-wide police force.” This should have been read in the context it was set in with the comparison to the UK where there are 43 in England and Wales, one in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland, as well as specialised and military police forces. IrishCycle.com is happy to clarify that this relates to general policing, and the word ‘general’ has been added to add after the word single to add clarity. IrishCycle is sorry for any confusion caused.