More than 2,000 Gardaí have been assaulted while on duty throughout the previous seven years, new data has revealed.
As a result, one Fine Gael TD has called for "our frontline heroes to be protected and equipped with bodycams” given the startling number of attacks on members of An Garda Siochana.
Deputy Alan Farrell, Fine Gael’s Justice spokesperson, has said there has been a steady increase in assaults against Gardaí in recent years, with figures provided to the TD showing that from 2015 to December 2022, 2,080 Gardaí were assaulted while on active duty.
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This year until the end of May, 186 members of the force attacked while on duty.
From 2015 to 2022, there were 509 assaults in the Dublin metropolitan region, while outside of Dublin, Kerry had the highest number of assaults against Gardaí with 157 incidents.
In Tipperary 135 Gardaí were attacked, while in Waterford and Galway, the numbers stood at 156 and 110 respectively.
Other figures also show that 2022 saw the highest number of Gardaí assaulted over a 10-year period, with 305 members of the force sustaining injury following an assault while on duty.
According to Deputy Farrell, this shocking number of attacks on garda members further reinforces the need for gardai to have bodycams.
It was announced last year that Gardai would begin trialling body-worn cameras throughout 2022 in a number of pilot programmes before a full rollout this year.
He said: “Bodycams will be vital in terms of protecting gardai Gardaí and for evidence of the nature of assaults and incidents that they are facing.
“It also makes little sense that the only individual involved in a confrontation with a member of the force who is without a camera and with footage of the incident is the Gardaí themselves – this puts them in a more vulnerable position.
“Our approach to the use of the technology underpinning body cameras will be robust and fully in line with all of our constitutional, European and international obligations to the rights of our people.
“Around 11 EU countries already use this technology with several more expected to follow suit, and we must be at the forefront of equipping our Gardaí to keep them safe.”
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