Minister says Securicor needs to `smarten up' procedures

THE Minister for Justice has said Securicor should "smarten up" its procedures following the theft of £100,000 from its cash …

THE Minister for Justice has said Securicor should "smarten up" its procedures following the theft of £100,000 from its cash depot in Waterford on Saturday.

Ms Owen said neither she nor the Garda Siochana was responsible for the success of the robbery, which took place on Securicor premises two miles outside Waterford city. A gang of armed men stole £100,000 carried by a Securicor van.

"They are serious questions to asked about the internal arrangements in this company. If they are selling themselves to banks etc as being secure, well then they'd, better smarten up their activities," she said.

"There are questions to be answered, not by me as Minister, not by the Garda Commissioner, but by the company themselves."

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The Minister's remarks follow the revelation that there was no Securicor staff at the depot when armed men broke in and waited for the security van to arrive.

Yesterday Garda sources confirmed that gardai had told Securicor on three occasions that its security arrangements at the depot were inadequate. Securicor has refused to comment on the raid, other than to reject the claim that its security was less than adequate.

Ms Owen said following the raid on a Brinks Allied depot in Dublin in January of last year, when an armed gang stole £2.8 million, that there had been a full review of cash in transit operations by the Garda. But she could not comment on details for security reasons.

The Minister rejected the criticisms of Mr P.J. Stone, the deputy general secretary of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), who said the Waterford raid showed she had "failed miserably" as Minister.

"He was ignorant of the facts. He is not an operational garda," she said. Asked about the prospect of Mr Stone being disciplined for his remarks, she said this was a matter for the Garda Siochana, although she added that such an initiative "can end up on the Minister's desk."

Meanwhile the Garda Federation, which also represents rank and file gardai, said Mr Stone was wrong to argue that the Waterford raid indicated shortcomings in the force. "The raid took place on Securicor's premises," a spokesman said. He added that the federation wanted to dissociate itself from the "vitriol" of Mr Stone's personal remarks about the Minister's competence.

Last night Ms Owen said she "welcomed" the £3.7 million provided in the Budget for prison building. The Minister said this extra money, on top of the £14 million she has already provided in her prisons budget, would allow her to complete proposals on prison spaces.