2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Michael O'Toole)
Members of the public are filming gardai on duty in a bid to provoke them, an officer has warned. Inspector Amanda Flood says some so-called citizen journalists try to wind up gardai – and then post edited versions of the confrontation online. “Citizen journalists go into a highly pressurized, emotionally charged and potentially volatile situation and subsequently antagonize members to such an extent in order to elicit a response and then clip that response and post it online hoping it goes viral,” she said.
The officer, who is based at Store Street station in central Dublin, was speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors in Killarney, Co Kerry – which is set to debate a motion calling on Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to address the growing issue of citizen journalists – and their impact on policing. And she said the filming was starting to affect gardai. She said: ““There have been occasions where they have been in members' faces, yes, and it takes a toll on the members personally and also with their family as well.
Behind every guard, there is a family, and that's important to recognise and acknowledge.” She also said that gardai in the clips were often doxed - with their private information being made public. And she called for Garda bosses to do three things to help gardai.
She said: “The first one being clear, practical guidelines for members, so that they know what to do when they're being filmed. The second part is for legal, legal protections to stop members being (victim of) online harassment, undue, unwarranted online harassment or doxxing, in some cases. And then the third one is then for management to support members when they do find themselves a victim of it.
” And she said that some citizen journalists – also known as auditors – had even filmed victims of crime going to a Garda station for help. She said: “I would like to revere Garda stations as a safe space for those that are seeking refuge from aggressors. And anyone who comes into a Garda station, there is a potential that they are there to report a crime, and if people come into a Garda station and film them, they're putting them at risk.
“Before Christmas, there was a call out for anyone that was a victim of coercive control or domestic violence to come into the Garda station and report that. And there are cases whereby auditors have come in and filmed members of the public doing that, and that doesn't put them in a safe space.” For the latest news and breaking news visit irishmirror.
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