Cork sergeant urges people to consider policing career as application deadline approaches 

A last-minute call in the current campaign to recruit gardaí has been made by a Cork-based sergeant working in community policing.

Sergeant James Sweeney, who is in charge of the community policing section and is based in Togher Garda Station, was speaking to The Echo in advance of tomorrow’s closing date for the latest recruitment campaign as the Government seeks to recruit 5,000 new gardaí.

“I completely accept there’s negative sides out there, we’re trying to change that, we’re trying to get people into the guards. By getting people, it changes the dynamic, it reduces the workload on other members — on frontline members — and that’s why we’re advertising it. It’s to improve the service first and foremost, but also to improve conditions for existing members.”

Sgt Sweeney said he had found his career in the service to be interesting, challenging, and full of possibilities.

“It’s a job that gives you very good opportunities education-wise, because you finish with a Level 7 BA degree in Applied Policing from the University of Limerick [UL],” he said.

“When you go Templemore, you do your placement and, at the end of it, you’re submitting a thesis. At the end of it, your degree is accredited by UL through the Garda College following on [from] your training and probationary period after the two years.”

Sgt Sweeney said he had undertaken an accredited degree course in policing and human rights at UL, which was another one of the opportunities that arise regularly for gardaí.

He said a career in the gardaí offers many different opportunities to specialise — including, for instance, scene of crime officers or financial fraud.

“Frontline policing is tough going as they’re the ones taking 90% of the hard calls, they deal with it. We’ve very good guards working in the city, very productive, we’re just trying to increase the numbers in that. There are great avenues in [An Garda Síochána] to specialise in an area subsequent to that.”