Chief supt: 'We all have our part to play in keeping Cork safe'

Chief Superintendent Tom Myers offers one piece of advice for anyone in public life.

“If you lie to the community, your credibility is gone. If you have a problem, front it up — that’s what I’ve learned, anyway.”

Head of policing in the Cork City Garda Division since 2021, the northsider has, by his own admission, been around the block a few times.

He joined the gardaí in 1984 and was posted around the country in different ranks, serving primarily in Cork. He was part of the drug squad, and served as a superintendent in Mayfield and in Anglesea St, and as a chief superintendent in Kerry and in Fermoy.

“I’ve said this before, but policing used to be about the gardaí before, but it’s not about us anymore,” he said. “We can’t police the city unless we have all the stakeholders onside, and that’s a fact.”

In Cork city, An Garda Síochána work closely with Cork City Council, Cork Business Association, Cork Chamber, the Irish Taxi Drivers Federation, and the Vintners Federation of Ireland, among others.

“We all have our part to play in keeping our city safe.”

Many people feel the city is not a particularly safe place at night, and that is something which the Taoiseach said last year, noting that young women in particular don’t feel as comfortable in town as they might have done in years past.

Chief Supt Myers said he would argue against that perception.

“You might expect me to say that, but all the statistics, and what I see in our cities, particularly Dublin, Limerick, and then when you look at the UK, we just don’t seem to have the problems that they have.

“That wouldn’t underestimate the challenges that we have in the city, of course we have challenges, we have a lot of antisocial activity, we have a lot of crime activity, we have a lot of drug activity, stuff that we have to deal with on a daily basis, but overall, I think the city is going quite well.

“But go walking over the city any evening, particularly when the sun is shining, people sitting out, eating out, having a glass of wine, a bit of lunch, dinner, and obviously policing has a role to play in all of that.”

With persistent complaints of aggressive begging in the city, he said the legislation was, in his opinion, “not great”, but he felt the gardaí currently had a good handle on the situation.

He said there was a busy year ahead, with 84 events occurring in town, not least among them, he predicted, the homecoming later this month “when Cork wins the Liam McCarthy Cup”.

“The vast majority of people who turn up for events, I would say 99.9%, are decent and well-behaved, but of course it’s the 0.1% that challenge us.”

Disappointment at low allocations of new gardaí to Cork city is nearly predictable each Templemore graduation ceremony now, but Chief Supt Myers said he was optimistic that will improve.

“We have put in a case, and we have been promised that we will get them,” he said. “We haven’t got as many as I would like to date, but I suspect that will change going forward from what I’m hearing.”

Earlier this year, the garda shifts working in Douglas and Carrigaline were amalgamated, as were the shifts working in Bishopstown and Ballincollig. If numbers in Cork were to improve, would he favour undoing those mergers?

“I actually spoke to Superintendent O’Sullivan about it only this morning, and he was telling me it’s working quite well now. There were a few issues on the southside, especially regarding the opening hours in some stations, but I understand all those issues have been resolved.

“If we get a few extra resources in the city, it will make life a bit easier, because I know what people want — they want to see guards, and they want to see them out.

“We can’t have guards at every street corner, but that’s the challenge for us on a daily basis.”

He said he would like to have more gardaí available during the daytime, but many are tied up in court every day.

“Because we’re so busy, the courts are jammed, the prisons are jammed, but we have to prove our case in court.”

The new Garda van, which is generally manned by community gardaí, has been a big hit in the city centre, even if Cork only has it on a timeshare with Kerry, and the chief super offered some good news on that front.

“We have it here at the moment, it’s an extra bit of visibility and reassurance, and we’re promised our own one in due course, so watch this space,” he said.

One aspect of policing in the city that might not be so well known, he said, is the garda regional control room in Anglesea St. It takes calls from the public relating to Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary.

It currently receives an average of 4,899 calls from the public every week, with 90 staff working across four shifts.

“That, in anyone’s book, is a lot of calls; and we are busy boys and girls, I can assure you.”

Turning to roads policing, he said there are still “way too many people driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the city, and sometimes they’re driving under the influence of both”.

“The penalties for drink- and drug-driving are severe, and some people only realise that when they come before the courts, so I would appeal again to people to get a cab, get a bus, get a lift, phone a friend, just don’t take the chance.”

Chief Supt Myers finished the interview by saying he was very proud of his staff, both garda and civilian, and the efforts they put in to keep Cork city safe.

“The vast majority of them go above and beyond, we have our challenges and nobody is perfect, but that’s my job as a senior manager to try and get the best out of everyone.

“We’re working very hard, and I think the city is going quite well; 365 days a year, 24/7, we’re open for business.”