Thoughts on a Car Chase – which level of Garda Activity makes the news?
Posted by Maman Poulet on 28 Sep 2008 at 02:47 pm | Tagged as: MSM
Photo owned by Robert FW Whitlock (cc)
Last night I was in Herbert Street off Dublin’s Baggot Street waiting on a lift. I spotted a unmarked Garda car coming out of Herbert Lane and remarked to the person with me that it was a Garda car. They appeared to be looking for someone. The car headed out to Baggot St. and about one minute later reappeared in Herbert Street this time chasing a car. They were headed down towards the Pepper Canister Church and after a bit of screeching the car being chased was stopped.
There was a lot of shouting, two men were ordered out of the car and told to lie on the ground. They were told to drop the keys. (Memories of the Sweeney were being evoked!)
It took a bit of persuasion. (Also known as a lot of shouting and something being pointed at the men at the ground.) The Gardai were wearing protective vests. Then the sirens really started ringing out around the South City Centre and 4 other Garda patrol cars and 2 unmarked arrived at speed. In fact I got the impression they were a bit sorry that the first car had stopped the suspects. I was kicking myself I didn’t have a camera. Herbert Street is very quiet with little residential accomodation – a few people came out of the houses and offices around to witness the incident.
The car being chased was briefly checked, the suspects put in a Garda car and everyone left with a Garda driving away the suspects car, which we noted had a Northern reg.
All very exciting and something to tell the mates who missed it. However today what has me wondering is the fact that there is nothing about this at all in the mainstream media? Ok so no member of the mainstream media witnessed the event – and that doesn’t mean they didn’t know about given that Paul Reynolds et al get told about stuff before it happens these days. But 7 Garda Cars chasing someone and we hear nothing? Maybe it’s normal and I live a sheltered life (in the North Inner City with the Garda helicopter over head every weekend and gangland murders once in a while). But how much Garda activity goes unnoticed and unreported these days?
When heading the south side on Friday night we came across what seemed to be the aftermath of a large bust-up on Church Street. There were a good few squad cars about, a couple of lads that were banged up pretty badly, and every resident in the area standing at their windows observing whatever happened. Again, nothing was reported, which I don’t think is all that surprising. It’s the kind of thing that happens every weekend in Dublin, I imagine. What did surprise me was that when I phone the Garda press office yesterday they didn’t know anything about it. They said they’d look into it and get back to me, but they never did.
If too much reporting was done, the govt fears we might be worried that crime is a problem. (That sounds like the too spoof civil servants in a sketch from Bremner Bird & Fortune). But crime reporting is surely crucial (both publicly/in media and by citizens).
As a matter of course, I phone the cops where regular things are going on in our area and the desk sergeant barely seems to know where my estate is. In the past, when we had significant anti-social problems, a couple of years we were able – through contacts and support – to get the Gards to patrol more. However our dutyful reporting doesn’t seem to get much of a response and we rarely see cops patrolling the estate since the MoJ became MoF.
Perhaps your crime incident sounds more CSI-like and therefore more interesting, attracting squad cars like bees to honey, but it still doesnt account for the culture of containment on reporting/ documenting crime, does it? As a sociologist, I would be very dubious on Irish crime statistics meaning anything because of unreported incidents, etc.. Put it another way, MP, the Irish govt could claim in the run-up to the decriminalisation of homosexuality that the law had never been implemented, and yet stats and legal cases showed another face of State power. It’s all a bit mad, no? Send for Poirot!
7 Garda cars wouldnt really be a rare event. I’ve heard of 25 squad cars being involved in a chase on the Northside (half the total number). Go to http://www.boards.ie and go to the Emergency Services forum. One of the threads has a video and discussion of a chase and is interesting.
Most stuff never makes the papers and what does only recieves a small section. Go to http://www.emergencyservicesforum.com. Theres a lot of videos, images there. Theres also a mix of Gardai and firemen, etc that post in the site