Garda rating in Meath, Louth among lowest in the country

Overall satisfaction levels with Gardai fell by 7.2 per cent this year to 76.8 per cent in the Louth-Meath division - giving it the second biggest drop in the country and considerably below the national average of 82 per cent, according to the Public Attitudes Survey published this week. Some 400 of 10,000 people surveyed nationally were in Louth-Meath, and the two counties reported the lowest level in the country for satisfaction with Garda contact (72.8 per cent, down 3.3 per cent on 2007 and nearly seven per cent below the national average). Just 33.8 per cent of Louth-Meath respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with how Gardai kept them informed of progress in a crime investigation - 11.4 per cent down on 2007 and nearly 11 per cent below the national average. The division also reported the lowest level of regarding Gardai as approachable or very approachable, at 69 per cent (11 per cent below the national average and 8.7 per cent below the division"s 2007 figure). The Louth-Meath rating of how approachable Gardai were in a local station was 87 per cent, the lowest in the country and 4.2 per cent below the average. The perception of unacceptable behaviour by Gardai was 10.1 per cent, double the 2007 figure and the highest in the country after the four metropolitan divisions. Louth-Meath"s satisfaction with Garda visibility in the locality stood at 64.1 per cent, a fall of 6.4 per cent on last year. The overall perception of Garda performance was rated 75 per cent, down 9.6 per cent on 2007, while the figure in relation to road safety was 71.6 per cent, down 3.1 per cent. Three-quarters of Louth-Meath respondents felt safe or very safe walking after dark, while 89 per cent felt similarly when home alone. These figures showed the second-highest increase in the country since 2005, a period in which the number worried about becoming a victim of crime has fallen over half, to just 31 per cent (and 35 per cent in respect of a family member or friend). Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy welcomed the strong overall satisfaction with Gardai and contact with them. However, he admitted there was no room for complacency and the survey pointed them towards providing an even better service in future. He said this was being achieved through building strong links with communities and working in partnership with people to find solutions and ensuring a safe and secure local environment for everyone. The survey"s findings surprised senior Gardai in the county, which has become a stand-alone division since late June under Chief Superintendent Seán Rattigan. The extent of the change on the 2007 figures were described as 'baffling' by one senior officer, who suggested that tougher traffic enforcement measures might in part be responsible. The ever-rising Dublin percentage of the county"s population is suspected of bringing in a more urban view on the function of the Gardai, which continue to hold their highest support among the elderly, home-owners and rural populations in general. The figures for Louth and Meath may, in part, have been skewed through an overly urban respondent sampling, as there have been no new incidents of friction between Gardai and the local population in recent years. The figures come at a time when serious crime rates in the county are falling and the number of fatal accidents on the roads are approaching a record drop.