Council opposes JPC abolition

Tipperary Co Council has backed a resolution from its Louth counterpart opposing the planned abolition of joint policing committees (JPCs).

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 provides for the dissolution of all JPCs across Ireland and their replacement with Local Community Safety Partnerships.

Louth Co Council has circulated a resolution stating: “Recognising the significance of the fact that the Joint Policing Committee represents one of the few useful reforms of Local Government in 2014, this Council opposes the proposed legislation to abolish the JPCs and replace them with repackaged Local Community Safety Partnerships.”

Several members of Tipperary Co Council spoke in favour of this move at their meeting in Nenagh last week. Cllr Roger Kennedy said that while many of the committees established did not perform effectively, this could not be said of Tipperary JPC. He said it is important to maintain the makeup of the new partnerships as the JPCs are now, and that they should have at least some elected member representation.

Cllr Shane Lee also defended the JPC model, saying that he as a member could see the importance of the committee. Cllr Pat English said local representatives had developed a good working relationship with gardaí through the JPC, while Cllr Seán Ryan said the JPC proved “absolutely crucial” in delivering community CCTV schemes in Tipperary. He believed the new partnership model would “seriously dilute” the effectiveness of joint policing.

For Cllr David Dunne, the JPC was a “vital link between councillors and the gardaí”, especially where drug crime was concerned. Cllr Marie Murphy pointed out that there were 15 councillors on Tipperary JPC. “It would be a retrograde step to row back on that,” she said.

Cllr John Crosse believed it should be compulsory to have a councillor chairing the new policing body. Concluding the disussion, Cathaoirleach Cllr Ger Darcy agreed with all the previous speakers. He said councillors often have information that is very useful to the gardaí and the JPC became an effective forum for dealing with crime at local level.