‘Don’t ring us - ring 999!’ Inspector warns calls to Limerick garda station could go unanswered

A GARDA inspector has warned that locals in Limerick’s county town must ring 999 and not the station landline when reporting a crime to guarantee that their query will be dealt with.

Inspector Pat Brennan told members of the Newcastle West Municipal District that calls made through the 999 system must be dealt with officially and are strictly logged, catalogued and governed.

At a Joint Policing Sub-Committee (JPC) meeting for the district, he said: “The message needs to go out that people have to ring the 999 system, which means the call is logged and cannot disappear.”

Last year, Limerick Live reported that elected members in Newcastle West were complaining that calls made to the local station after 9pm were being diverted to Henry Street garda station.

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Insp Brennan informed councillors that each night at 9pm the temporary garda station in Newcastle West is closed “to guarantee that a car is out patrolling in the area.”

He explained that if the call is logged, it goes through the command process and a squad car has to deal with it before they sign off from their tour of duty at the end of the night.

“If you ring the garda station, the phone might be switched over, you might get knocked off and the call is not recorded properly,” he added, after urging councillors to spread the word locally.

Cllr Liam Galvin (FG) said that “we have lost the run of ourselves in relation to ringing the gardaí”, adding that 999 is also used to report a cat in a tree, a dead animal or even a chimney fire.

He described this as a “sad reflection of the way things have gone” that locals cannot ring a local garda station in their parish when they need to report an incident.

The Abbeyfeale-based councillor warned that the inability to ring the '069' number and reach a local garda in the station could “one day backfire.”

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Insp Brennan also stressed that there “needs to be more calls made” to An Garda Síochána to guarantee an increase in squad car patrols throughout the town.

So far in 2022, there have been 23 recorded public order offences reported in Newcastle West.

He stressed the need for more calls, stating that people need to ring it in. “It’s no good seeing something and telling your neighbour. We need to know,” he pressed.

“If I go to the chief for more resources, I have to be able to say there are 100 calls, this is a priority. When they look at the system and see 23, they will assume that nothing is happening,” he added.