Gardaí in Cork city have reported more than 600 incidents of use of force so far this year 

GARDAÍ in Cork City reported 600 incidents this year of force used in the course of their duties, the second-highest figure of any Garda division in Ireland.

Only Dublin South Central reported more use of force, with 956 incidents recorded in the year to date.

The Garda Commissioner’s latest monthly report to the Policing Authority shows that this year, up to July 2022, 921 use-of-force incidents were recorded across the three Cork divisions.

602 incidents were recorded in Cork City, 235 in Cork North, and 84 in Cork West.

In July, there were 128 incidents in Cork where force was needed, 76 in Cork City, 39 in Cork North, and 13 in Cork West.

Nationally, 7,602 incidents involving the use of force were recorded by gardaí in the year up to July 2022.

More than half of incidents involved alcohol (4,706 incidents), while a quarter involved drugs (1,966).

The use of force made up less than 1% of all incidents recorded on the Garda PULSE system, and the large majority of incidents involved force to effect an arrest.

Use-of-force incidents were most common on Sundays (21.6% of incidents) and Saturdays (20.4% of incidents), with almost half occurring between 4pm and midnight (47%).

Across all use-of-force incidents in the country in the year to date, 179 civilians were injured and 159 gardaí were injured.

None of the incidents of use of force anywhere in the country involved a firearm. Most commonly, use-of-force incidents involved handcuffs or unarmed restraint.

Less common were uses of pepper spray, batons, anti-spit guards, and tasers.