Gardaí start specialist training in UK for high-risk vehicle pursuits
Irish police (Gardaí) are undergoing specialist high-speed pursuit training with British forces to address a skills gap in handling dangerous driving incidents. This follows a fatal crash involving teenagers evading police and ongoing concerns about the role of social media in promoting illegal driving trends.
Why it matters
The initiative addresses public safety concerns regarding police response capabilities and the influence of viral content on criminal behavior.
Garda members have begun specialist pursuit training with a British police force and will begin training their colleagues in high-speed and dangerous pursuits by the end of the year.
The Irish Times understands a number of Garda trainers have already been under instruction by specialists at Devon and Cornwall Police, which has a centre of excellence.
The move will ensure frontline members driving patrol cars have the expertise to engage in the most complex and high-risk vehicle pursuits and, as a result, they will be sanctioned to undertake those operations.
News the Garda has turned to a British police force to plug what has become a gaping skills shortfall comes after five teenagers in a BMW were killed in a wrong-way crash on the M9 in Co Kildare last Sunday morning as they tried to evade gardaí.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in