A quarter of people in the Republic, and a third in Dublin, feel unsafe walking in their neighbourhoods after dark, according to a survey of public attitudes to gardaí and crime.
The Garda-commissioned survey, based on research carried out by an independent consultancy firm, identifies a growing public concern with personal injury and street crime.
A quarter of respondents felt less safe when walking in their area than a year ago, while 44 per cent felt less safe now than six years ago.
Some 44 per cent also said that crime was increasing in their area, while 84 per cent said they believed it was increasing in Ireland as a whole.
The survey highlighted a generally positive public view of the Garda, with 87 per cent of respondents saying they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service in 2001.
Of those who had contacts with gardaí last year, 82 per cent expressed satisfaction and 18 per cent dissatisfaction. Satisfaction with Garda visibility was somewhat lower, with 39 per cent saying they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
Satisfaction ratings were also lower in the area of road safety. Some 87 per cent of respondents said gardaí did a good job overall, while 71 per cent said they did a good job in the area of road safety. This proportion fell to 61 per cent in the Dublin West division.
One in eight respondents reported that a garda had behaved towards them in a way they considered unacceptable. The most common complaint in this regard was that gardaí were disrespectful or impolite.
Only 6 per cent of respondents in Wexford reported unacceptable behaviour by gardaí, compared to 25 per cent in Dublin North Central.
The survey also questioned people on policing priorities, and contrasted perceptions of what gardaí should be targeting with perceptions of what they do target.
Of a list of 26 tasks, respondents ranked tackling the sale of alcohol to under-age drinkers ninth, and enforcing immigration laws 22nd, in order of perceived importance. However, when asked what priority gardaí actually gave such tasks, the former was ranked 23rd and the latter 10th.
Asked which areas of the overall Garda service needed to be improved, 41 per cent said more foot patrols were needed, 34 per cent said greater manpower, and 7 per cent said better enforcement of traffic laws.
Responding to this finding, Fine Gael's spokesman on justice, Mr John Deasy, criticised the Government for cutting the Garda's budget by more than €14 million, and its training budget by €11 million.
"Even if the Government recruits, trains and brings on stream 2,000 extra gardaí by 2007, as they have promised, the number of gardaí retiring every year means that by 2007 we will have less gardaí than we have now," he said.
As for actual experience of crime, 12.5 per cent of respondents reported that they or another member of their family had been the victim of a crime last year. This compared to 6 per cent in 2000, and 7 per cent in 1999.
The 2001 figure was consistent with a 12 per cent victimisation rate identified in Central Statistics Office research in 1998.
A total of 10,405 people took part in the survey, which was conducted by telephone and post mainly between January and April last.
While the final report was published by the Garda Research Unit, the fieldwork was carried out by the Belfast-based Research and Evaluation Services. The company has carried out extensive research for State agencies in the North, including the Northern Ireland Police Authority and the Parades Commission.
The report can be read in full at: www.garda.ie
