Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 May 2024
340. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice the number of juvenile liaison officers, by rank, attached to the Meath Garda division as of 29 April 2024; and if she will provide same as of 1 January 2022, in tabular form. [20160/24]
View answerAs the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible, by law, for the deployment of personnel and I, as Minister, have no direct role in the matter. Garda management keeps this deployment under review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities to ensure optimum use is made of available resources.
I am advised by the Commissioner that Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers (JLOs) are specially trained to fulfil a key role in implementing the Garda Diversion Programme. Their role includes the administration of formal and informal cautions as well as appropriate supervision of children who have been admitted to the Diversion Programme, as provided in Part 4 of the Children Act 2001.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that on 1 January 2022 and on 29 April 2024 there were fewer than ten JLO's assigned to Meath Division.
I am also advised that data is not released by An Garda Síochána for counts less than 10 for data protection reasons.
