IT'S NOT easy to become a garda. Not only are recruitment drives infrequent, but the number of applicants usually far outweighs the number of training places available.
The Garda Siochana has run major recruitment drives in 1988, 1991 and 1994 and it seems likely that the three year pattern will continue so the next recruitment drive will probably be in 1997. However, the decision to recruit trainee gardai is a ministerial one and, if the need arises, a recruitment drive could commence this year.
The Garda received 18,000 applications for 1,050 places, last time around. The selection process involves a written reasoning ability test, an interview and medical examination. The written test requires no special preparation and there is no syllabus. Those who score highly enough in the aptitude tests are called for interview.
As to the type of person suited to the job, a Garda spokeswoman says that an ability to communicate effectively is essential. "You would also have to show that you can take control of a situation," she adds.
About 750 women are employed as gardai, out of a total of 10,750. The numbers are increasing, says the spokeswoman.
"Up until 1972, women had to leave when they got married. In 1982, they got equal pay with male gardai. Most of the women (now in the gardai) joined in 1988 when the first big recruitment campaign was run, or later. The second woman superintendent was appointed this year, so women are working their way up through the ranks," she explains.
For those lucky enough to secure a place as a trainee garda, the training process takes three years and is divided into three phases. Phases one (22 weeks) and three (12 weeks) are spent in the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary, where trainee gardai study a wide range of subjects including law, Garda procedure, social science, languages, physical education and policing techniques.
Considerable emphasis is placed on the integration of theory and practice throughout the basic training. During phases one and three, trainee gardai live in the college and they are paid a personal allowance.
Phase two (24 weeks) is essentially work experience with a trainee spending three months assigned to a tutor garda in a Garda station. A further three months are spent with specialist units, such as drugs, detectives, the district office, traffic or the Juvenile Liaison Office, explains the spokeswoman.
Trainees are paid an additional £50 a week toward food and accommodation, during this phase. When the students have completed their training, they are technically-qualifled as gardai but must spend a further two years on probation.
