The Garda deputy commissioner has said that any manifestation of racism, whether inside or outside the organisation, will be fully dealt with.
Opening the annual Garda Síochána Diversity Consul-tation Day at Farmleigh in Phoenix Park last Friday, Deputy Commissioner Nacie (WI) Rice added that “racism is wrong”.
He said: “If racist or prejudicial incidents are occurring we want to know about it. I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of this type of crime to report it to An Garda Síochána. Please do not think reporting crime is a waste of time.”
Cmmr Rice noted that the information gardaí receive, “no matter how insignificant you may think it is, enables us to focus our resources. Those who commit these crimes can be dealt with if we receive the full support of the communities affected by it.”
According to Cmmr Rice, the public consultation on diversity is a very important process in the work the organisation, and has also helped make gardaí “proactive in harnessing the values and enrichment that diversity can bring”.
He also said their commitment to managing diversity is not aimed at giving ethnic communities an added advantage over others, but “about maximising the contribution of all in Irish society”.
Highlighting some of the progress already made in the area, Cmmr Rice said the Garda has embraced ethnic recruitment, with recent Garda College graduates coming from “diverse international backgrounds”.
He urged participants at the conference not to measure the organisation’s diversity performance in the context of nationality or ethnic origin.
“For An Garda Síochána, diversity is about recognising, acknowledging, and respecting difference,” he said. “These differences include gender, ethnicity, marital status, family status, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age and membership of the Traveller community.”
Also speaking on the day, Sgt Dave McInerney of the Garda Racial, Intercultural and Diversity Office (GRIDO) urged people who have been affected by racism or have diversity policing issues to contact any of the 355 Garda ethnic liaison officers across the country.
“Ethnic liaison officers are not the sole investigators of racist incidents, as it is the duty of all Gardaí to investigate racist incidents that are reported to them,” added Garda Jonathan O’Mahony of the GRIDO.
Meanwhile, some immigrants who attended the consultation have described the event as “window dressing”.
Speaking with Metro Éireann, one of them – who does not want to be identified – said not allowing people to publicly ask questions outside the group discussions amounted to “brainwashing” and would not help multicultural policing in the future.
