An Garda Síochána: A job worth doing

Recruiting in today’s challenging and continuously evolving jobs market is no easy feat. The competition for talent is at its highest level in over 20 years.

An Garda Síochána is rising to this challenge as it seeks to not only expand its Garda numbers, but also its civilian staff.

What An Garda Síochána has got going for it is that it offers a job of purpose and work of purpose. To quote one Garda staff member, it is “a job worth doing”.

It offers an attractive proposition, a job where you can make a real difference to individuals, to communities and ultimately to the State.

Beyond that, An Garda Síochána offers variety, interesting and specialised work, competitive salary, opportunities to diversify, to upskill, and to advance – all attributes people want and aspire to in a career.

It is a career in service to the people of Ireland, requiring dedication and commitment to keeping them safe. That in itself brings its own rewards.

There are almost 3,500 Garda staff working within An Garda Síochána currently. Its civilian workforce is fundamental to the organisation, and brings a wealth of knowledge, skills and outside expertise to their roles in An Garda Síochána.

Garda staff support An Garda Síochána’s mission of keeping people safe by performing administrative and technical duties to support the work of operational colleagues.

This includes processing vetting applications; handling crime-reporting calls from Gardaí; dealing with fixed-charge penalty notices; developing and running IT systems to aid crime investigation; keeping Gardaí informed of the latest policing developments; supporting the mental and physical health of Gardaí; and providing analysis of crime trends.

This civilianisation over the last number of years has resulted Gardaí returning to frontline duties, and Garda staff are currently taking on more functions to release further Gardaí.

At local level, they are essential to the operation of police work in each Operational Division. Here Garda Staff provide administration support in the Divisional Office, the Performance Assurance Function Area, the Community Engagement Functional Area and the Crime Functional Area. Meanwhile, the Business Service Functional Area is fully resourced by Garda Staff to provide HR, finance, logistics and administration functions.
To assist in its civilian expansion, An Garda Síochána has recently partnered with Staffline who have been awarded a contract to offer end-to-end recruitment solutions across a number of Garda staff grades. This partnership is aimed at finding avenues to the right talent. An Garda Síochána will also continue to recruit via the Public Appointments Service.

And, as we look to the future, An Garda Síochána will be looking to recruit top talent across a wide range of skilled roles in an environment that is implementing strategic growth and development. These include in Communications; Legal; Business; Finance; HR; Information Technology; Strategic Transformation; Crime; Community Engagement; and Administration functions.

Right now is an exciting time for anyone considering a career in An Garda Síochána as we are undergoing a transformation process, which seeks to expand and diversify our service.

Each of these roles offer the potential for greater career prospects through promotion but also lateral moves to positions in other sections and functional areas enabling upskilling and career diversification.

Among the areas which is expanding is in the Garda Press Office. As one of the busiest press offices in the country this office delivers for the organisation by highlighting crime investigation appeals, issuing public safety and crime prevention advice, and creating awareness of Garda activities.

Evan O’Leary, an Executive Officer attached to the Garda Press Office in Dublin, explains what his job entails.

“Typically my role involves drafting press releases or lines against queries for media; liaising with senior Gardaí if there is a major incident; and looking after our social media. If you have an interest in current affairs and have a sense of urgency, I think this is a role that could suit you.

“It is a dynamic office that keeps you connected to what is going on within the organisation and also society,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brendan Callaghan, who is also part of the Garda Press Office, works on the internal communications team.

“Most my time is spent researching and writing articles for Newsbeat. This is the digital organisational newsletter that goes out twice a week. The work gives me a great overview of the organisation. I get to deal with people from different sections and bureaus in different parts of the country. It helps to foster good organisational culture and I like to think that the stories we put out acknowledge the great work being done by personnel every day”.

Brendan adds that for anyone coming into An Garda Síochána, no matter what role, they should prepare themselves “to be landed right in the centre of one of the most important and impactful organisations in the country. There’s never a dull day and there is always something happening”.

Another area which is expanding is the Garda Síochána Analysis Service (GSAS). This is the centre of expertise for turning internal and externally sourced data into information and insight that both directly supports investigations and data driven management decisions.

Crime and Data Analysts work to provide specialist expertise to operational policing including criminal investigations as well as analytical support for the development of policing operations to target specific issues; and strategic policing where they work to identify crime threats and support the development of national strategies and plans.

Further to this as An Garda Síochána embarks on a journey to become an information led and digital police service, it has an ambitious digital strategy which requires the delivery of extensive frontline policing systems. To support these goals, ICT specialists are also being recruited in the area of cyber security; infrastructure and operations; networks; service-delivery; software development; digital transformation; and technical architecture.

Florin Coste is an ICT specialist in An Garda Síochána and he outlines the opportunities that have been available to him since joining the civil service.

“My role is really interesting and challenging. It includes keeping up to date with ICT trends, analysing suspicious activity and training the rest of the organisation on security precautions. Ever since I joined An Garda Síochána, the support I received from my colleagues has been excellent. The ICT department was good at showing me the ropes and giving me a good understanding of An Garda Síochána key objectives. An Garda Síochána has a good support structure for further development and keeping up to date with new technologies. This includes offering ongoing development of staff knowledge and skills for the benefit of both the individual and the organisation”.

Further opportunities available within An Garda Síochána include roles in Garda Control Rooms; Garda Internal Audit Service; the Garda Information Services Centre; and Garda Vetting.

These are not just jobs but opportunities to make a tangible impact on the safety and security of the State.

To find out more about career opportunities in An Garda Síochána visit:

www.publicjobs.ie;
www.staffline.getgotjobs.ie
www.garda.ie/en/careers