Minister McEntee welcomes Government approval of proposal to expand Garda Liaison Officer Network.
Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD has received Government approval for the expansion of the Garda Liaison Officer Network.
Following a request from Garda Commissioner Mr Drew Harris to the Minister, this expansion will involve:
- Creation of two new posts for Garda Liaison Officers, one in Abu Dhabi, with responsibility for the Middle East region, and the second in Bangkok, with responsibility for the South-East Asia/Australasia region.
- Assignment of an assistant liaison officer to Washington who will support the operation of the current Garda Liaison Officer (GLO) post in the North American Region.
- Temporary assignment of two Garda members to assist the French National Police and Gendarmerie during July and August 2022.
Minister McEntee said, “We have seen the importance of international law enforcement coalitions in recent months as, through collaboration and cooperation with their partners, An Garda Síochána have enjoyed success in pursuing Irish criminals abroad, such as the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.
Some criminals may think that they can evade justice by leaving Ireland but these law enforcement coalitions demonstrate that they cannot.
And given the increasingly transnational nature of organised crime and terrorism, the Garda Liaison Officer Network plays an important role in realising An Garda Síochána’s commitment to tackle these twin issues.
They engage with local and regional law enforcement agencies regarding the activities and movement of Irish nationals or people linked to Ireland who An Garda Síochána, and potentially their colleague police services, have an interest in.
The new GLOs will be crucial in assisting An Garda Síochána in pursuing criminals who spread misery here in Ireland, as well as abroad”.
GLO positions are currently situated in Madrid, Paris, London, The Hague, Washington DC and Bogota.
Garda members at the rank of Sergeant, Inspector and Superintendent have been assigned to these positions, which are based in the Irish embassies as part of the Irish diplomatic mission in those countries.
Minister McEntee continued, “This is the second expansion of the Network in the past two years following the creation of the Washington and Bogota posts in 2020. These expansions follow a review of the Network which recommended the creation of five new regional GLO posts.
These new positions will be important for enhancing the security of the state and strengthening An Garda Síochána’s relationships with police services overseas.
The deployment of Garda Liaison Officers to date has proven to be an effective and practical form of interagency cooperation between police services and has supported the exchange of information and the coordination of operations across borders.
This expansion will see the Network break new ground by expanding into the Middle-East and South-East Asia/Australasia while also supplementing the existing operations in North America and Europe”.
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