Law enforcement in the Republic of Ireland is the responsibility of Ireland's civilian police force, the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gove ...

, commonly referred to as the Gardaí. It is responsible for all civil policing within the country and has been the only territorial police force since their merger with the

Dublin Metropolitan Police The Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) was the police force of Dublin, Ireland, from 1836 to 1925, when it was amalgamated into the new Garda Síochána. History 19th century The Dublin city police had been subject to major reforms in 1786 and ...

in 1925.

Garda Síochána

The Garda Síochána are responsible for national and local policing in Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The govern ...

. Its headquarters are located in

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and t ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. The Garda Síochána Reserve is the volunteer reserve section of the Gardaí. Its purpose is to supplement the work of members of the Garda Síochána in performing its functions.

Military Police Corps

The Military Police Corps is the corps of the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

responsible for the provision of

policing The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

service personnel and providing a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

presence to forces while on exercise and deployment. Its tasks increase during wartime to include traffic control organisation and POW and

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

control. The Military Police Corps are distinguished from other units by their wearing of a red beret. The Military Police Corps enjoy a close working relationship with the

at both national and local levels, with the Gardaí providing specialist training to the Corps in

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservat ...

Airport and Harbour policing

Within

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport ( Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south o ...

Cork Airport Cork Airport ( ga, Aerfort Chorcaí, ) is the second-largest of the three principal international airports in Ireland, after Dublin and ahead of Shannon. It is located in Cork City, south of the city centre in an area known as Farmers Cro ...

, and

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

, the Airport Police Service perform aviation security functions. They are employed by

Dublin Airport Authority DAA (styled "daa"), previously Dublin Airport Authority, is a commercial semi-state airport company in Ireland. The company owns and operates Dublin Airport and Cork Airport. Its other subsidiaries include the travel retail business Aer Riant ...

and authorised by the

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport The Minister for Transport ( ga, An tAire Iompair) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Transport. The current Minister for Transport is Eamon Ryan, TD. He is also Minister for the Environment, Clima ...

. Within Dublin Port and

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

Harbour, the Dublin Harbour Police and the

Dún Laoghaire Harbour Police The Dún Laoghaire Harbour Police is a small, specialised police force in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland operating under the jurisdiction of the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company. The force has the power of arrest under Section 54 of ...

(operated by the

Dublin Port Company Dublin Port Company (Irish: ''Comhlacht Chalafort Átha Cliath''), formerly called the Dublin Port and Docks Board, is a self-financing semi-state company whose business is to manage Dublin Port, Ireland’s premier port. Established in 1997 ...

harbour company respectively) perform a similar role to the Airport Police Service. The powers of these organisations are limited to the airport/port buildings and grounds.

Special police organisations

The

Special Detective Unit , headquarters = Harcourt Street, Dublin (D2) , formed = as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) , preceding1 = Garda Special Branch , preceding2 = , jurisdiction = Ireland , employees = Undisclosed~ 300 , budget = Undisclose ...

(SDU) is a unit of the

under its Crime & Security Branch (CSB). Their responsibilities include

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

counter-espionage Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

, providing an armed response to incidents, protection of the State, protection of cash shipments, monitoring the activities of subversive and extremist groups, protection of VIPs and operation of the Witness Security Program.

Revenue Customs

The Office of the Revenue Commissioners operate a customs service at all major ports of entry to Ireland and are mandated to stop all illegal narcotics and firearms from entering the state. Authorised officers have a wide range of powers including arrest under the Customs Consolidation Act and Finance Act. They are also authorised to investigate revenue offences under the Taxes Consolidation Act.

References

External links

Garda Síochána website

{{Police forces in Ireland