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IN SEPTEMBER OF last year newspapers around the country were filled with stories about a baby girl that was rushed to hospital after sitting on a syringe on Dublin Bus.
In November a woman who broke a woman’s eye socket in an attack on the DART avoided a custodial sentence after her victim asked for leniency on her behalf.
Shortly after this in January, a couple were jailed for smashing a beer bottle over the head of a man in an attack on the Luas red line service.
While each transport provider has their own security operations in place to stop incidents like these from happening, it does raise the question: Why does Dublin not have its own transport police?
Hang on, does anyone actually care about this?
It isn’t exactly at the forefront of the political agenda, but there is an appetite out there for it.
In an freedom of information request sent to TheJournal.ie, almost a quarter of complaints made to the Department of Transport in the first three quarters of 2015 about the Luas service mentioned the possible introduction of transport police.
Representations were made to the Department by workers for STT Risk Management – the organisation that currently runs security on the light-rail service – who called for their powers to be extended.
One worker drew attention to a poster used at a Luas stop carrying the following slogan:
STT Rail Security: Serving and Protecting Luas Passengers
There is some political backing for the idea.
In their manifesto, a resurgent Fianna Fáil have given their full support to the idea, suggesting a public transport police section within the gardaí.
“Security issues on public transport are a serious issue in Dublin,” the policy document says, “particularly on the Luas services and late night bus services.
Anti-social behaviour and intimidation are rife.
Acting government party Fine Gael are a lot less keen.
Speaking in the Dáil last September, minister for justice Frances Fitzgerald said that she had “no plans to establish a separate transport police service for the Dublin area”, and would instead be focusing resources on improving policing generally.
Dublin isn’t really big enough to have its own transport police though?
Dublin may only have around 530,000 in its urban area, but these people take an awful lot of journeys.
Last year was the fourth year in a row that passenger figures climbed in Ireland, with journeys taken across Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Irish Rail and Luas services totalling 224.1 million.
In Dublin DART journeys (17.5 million), Luas journeys (34.6 million) and Dublin Bus journeys (119.5 million) make up a total of 171.6 million, more than three quarters of the country’s total.
Around the world transport police can be found in cities with similar populations to Dublin.
Boston (MBTA Transit Police) and Portland (Trimet Transit Police) in the USA and Glasgow and Sunderland in the United Kingdom, cities of comparable in size to the Irish capital, are all served by autonomous transport police (the British Transport Police provide transport security across the UK).
Looking closer to home, Ireland’s Airport Police Service (APS) work in a similar way, outside of the control of An Garda Síochána and have been in existence since 1936.
The APS serve Dublin and Cork airports and are responsible for “general policing and aviation security duties at the State airports”, as well as enforcing airport bye-laws.
Aren’t things pretty safe at the moment?
Currently, each transport operator has to look out for its own security operations.
In response to a query from TheJournal.ie, Dublin Bus stated that it has a firm policy in place for tackling anti-social behaviour.
Security is enforced through extensive use of CCTV on its 945 buses, close cooperation with An Garda Síochána and interaction with community groups.
In recent years specific measures have been taken to reduce aggression towards drivers.
Even so, if there is a violent incident on a bus, in that moment the driver remains the person who will most likely have to deal with it.
Asked specifically if they would welcome the introduction of transport police, Dublin Bus said:
Dublin Bus believe that the security measures already in place on our vehicles, combined with mobile and radio supervision and close liaison between Dublin Bus, the Gardai and local Community groups are the best way to deal with anti-social behaviour issues.
Security on the Luas services is looked after by STT Risk Management.
As a private security contractor their workers are limited in how they can deal with the public.
In April last year an STT worker was stabbed and hospitalised after trying to break up an altercation between three men on the Milltown Luas station platform.
The company did not respond to queries made for this article, but on its website it emphasises that its staff go beyond an “observe and report” brief.
It says:
STT Risk Management differ greatly on the basis that our team are equipped to handle potential issues and resolve on the spot avoiding any disruption to service, staff assets or passengers.
Asked about their interactions with STT Risk Management, a spokesperson for Transdev – who hold a €150 million contract to operate the Luas service until 2019 – said:
The contract between STT and Transdev is a commercial contract and private. Transdev is not in a position to answer your questions.
Does anything look likely to change?
At the moment, it wouldn’t seem so.
The Department of Justice has said that its pretty happy with the way cooperation between transport operators and gardaí is working at the moment, and that “a range of regional and local operations have been put in place as required to address issues that have arisen at specific locations.
The Department of Transport – who work closely with the APS – said that security was a matter for individual transport providers, and that they would work in conjunction with gardaí.
The Department did note however that a Transport Operators Forum – which is made up of transport providers in Dublin – held its first meeting in February, and it will allow the different providers to share information and best practices.
It is hard to get a firm grasp on exactly how many crimes are committed on public transport in Dublin as the CSO does not record them separately – but as can be seen, horror stories about attacks are a frequent occurance.
Someone else who backs the idea is Independent TD Finian McGrath, who told TheJournal.ie: “Yes, we need transport police to deal with threats and anti-social activity.”
Innocent people are suffering,” he said.
And it’s only a matter of time before someone gets killed or stabbed.
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Take note any Labour or Green voters who mistakenly believe they’re voting for left wing parties.
@Rochelle Hart: Why do supposedly left-wing parties support reducing the money DCC has to spend, by repeatedly reducing property tax?
That’s a populist policy, not a left policy. Greens + Labour are right to pull out of that BS.
@Michael Barry: Because they believe in housing as an essential right, not as assets to be taxed.
The property tax doesn’t serve as a wealth tax since it applies to even those in the most modest homes and since it’s beyond a council’s remit to remove the property tax, the best they can do is reduce the impact.
@Michael Barry: because many people on low incomes just happen to be in houses that have become valuable.
Do you propose taxing people out of their homes or having them live in unheated homes and all for big government to squander it on wasters and illegal immigrants
@Michael Barry: That is a bit of a red herring that labour included in their press statement. But there was no requirement in the progressive alliance to vote one way or another on the property tax. Socdems have consistently voted to have the maximum property tax within the +15 percent limit allowed. FG and FF have consistently voted to reduce it in the past. It’s unlikely that Labour can make them vote to increase it. That represents a very small part of the overall council budget (2% from the article I saw on Dublin Inquirer which has lots of detail). So the feeling was that pushing for a left alliance was the most important thing.
@David O’Reilly: and I think that the property tax should have some kind of means test. As people said above there are so many people with a fixed income who really struggle with that bill and they may just have a ginormously expensive house because of Ireland’s cyclical crackers property market. I hear it constantly when I’m talking to people in North Dublin anyway. Lots of people who can pay it without batting an eyelid though. It should be clear what they are getting for that though – like in the UK council tax is pretty big but you get your bins and lots of council services that are apparent like street cleaning etc.
That sounds like a solid coalition. I give it 3 months.
@honey badger: I’m sure they care that you give it anytime at all. At least they are trying to change things all you seem to do with your time is post dribble on here
@Ger Whelan: In fairness the lot of them would fall out with their own shadows…..3 months is very ootimistic!!
Great idea in principle. The only way to have real change is that all left leaning parties to come together to vote out fgff,
Labour and greens could be wiped out next election.
So they need to decide what side of history they want to be on.
Labour sold out and electorate don’t forget that. If they have any chance, they need to go back to their roots of supporting the ordinary workers.
Disgraceful Labour, they are at it all over again.
Propping up FF FG.
Refusing to enter left alliance in Dublin city Council.
You won’t see my vote ever again
@Niall Murphy: You don’t understand local politics if you think this is about “propping up FFG”
@Michael Barry: or that SF are left. All they are doing is bandwagoning. They’ll soon exhaust all possibilities.
@Alan: ” bandwagoning” excellent, even my predictive text couldn’t offer an alternative to that……I’ll use in discussion
They’ll be riding unicorns are the chamber in no time. Rainbows everywhere.
Well done Labour. Never get into bed with terrorists.
@Dave c: They already did that when they jumped into bed with FF. Its founding members were originally part of SF and the IRA and split to form their own political party and terrorist movement which caused the Civil war.
@Ger Whelan: That was different Sinn Fein party – learn your history
@Sean Hayes: Better tell them to Update their official website so. Because there it shows its history back to its founding in the early 1900′s.
@Ger Whelan: Everything was found in this country in the 1900s .
If the parties put themselves forward under a Progressive Alliance in the coming general election they could have a breakthrough chance.
@9QRixo8H: such a diverse groups of malcontents would never be able to agree a joint program nationally. Even Sinn Fein would be reluctant to try to form a government that included PBP. When the election comes, the left parties will split the vote as per usual. The old story, governments don’t win elections, the opposition lose them.
@9QRixo8H: Are you serious? They collectively would garner 8% of the vote, if even that in a GE.
This is another ” refurbishment ” of their failed policies, and claptrap .
I honestly thought you had an idea of this works based on your posts, its OK to promote something but to tie to this is farcical.
Exactly
Alliance? More like Axis.
It won’t last there b a falling out somewhere
Lunatics/asylum
Dublin City Council should be disbanded and the management of Fingal brought in to run things.
@Notty Tee: frying pan/fire. Fingal.is about as bad as it gets.
@Notty Tee: that’s hilarious
Labour costing up to FF on the councils
Amazing! Now do something about all the scroats ruining our city!!
Great, a Far Lazy alliance of doleheads to spend my tax money on the bone idle.
In France they’d be called le Front Populaire. When will they split?
The Left axis here is primarily driven by resentment. No one believes higher taxes results in better services. It just sucks money from the real economy. Small local businesses then need grants to survive. Higher taxation validated. The virtuous Left.
Does it really matter? Councillors have no power, all important decisions are made by the city manager. We don’t even get to vote for Lord Mayor the parties take turn enjoying that gig even if the chosen one is unfit for any office.
Any member of Labour is very welcome to join the Social Democrats.
have your say