The number of Gardaí allocated to Clare is almost exactly in line with the national average.
However, if this county was allocated the same level of resources as city areas, such as Limerick, then on a head of population basis there would be up to 50 more Gardaí across the county.
At the end of January, there were 316 officers assigned to the Clare Garda Division, giving this county an average of 2.66 Gardaí for every 1,000 people living here.
A Clare FM analysis of data released to the Dáil by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, the national average, when excluding officers assigned to specialist units or to training functions, is 2.68.
However, if Clare had the same allocation as Limerick, on a head-of-population basis, then the number of Gardaí here would be 366 and not 316.
And if Clare had the same level of Garda resources as in Dublin North Central, then on a head of population basis there would be 855 Gardaí in the county.
And it’s not just urban areas which have a higher rate of Garda cover than the Banner – Garda regions near the border also have more Gardaí, when linked in with their populations.
The assignment of Gardaí to individual areas is a matter for the Gardaí themselves, based on a range of factors including population and size, but also local and national crime trends and operational strategies.
