Garda telephone link for crime reports
O'Leary proposed a dedicated telephone link for citizens to pass crime information to Gardaí. Collins said Gardaí saw no general need, citing the 999 system and ordinary telephone contact, with special links used for serious crimes; the Chair then noted that Questions 15 and 16 were for written reply.
asked the Minister for Justice whether he will consider the feasibility of establishing a telephone link to the Garda authorities to enable citizens to report information which may assist in the detection of crime on the lines of similar arrangements in other countries.
Comment on this
The Garda authorities do not consider that there is any general need for the provision of additional facilities by way of a special telephone link to enable member of the public to communicate to the Garda information which may assist in the detection of crime. They state that the public can and do use the free 999 call system for this purpose and of course the ordinary telephone system can be used to communicate information to a particular Garda station or to a particular member of the Force. Additionally, in the case of specific serious crimes it is standard practice to provide a special telephone number or numbers to enable members of the public to communicate directly with the Gardaí who are investigating the particular crime.
