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The public should always call 999/112 in an emergency or urgent situation. These calls will be linked directly to our Regional Control Centres where again the fastest and most suitable Garda response will be provided.
What is GardaSAFE?
GardaSAFE is a new Computer Aided Dispatch system being introduced to An Garda Síochána replacing the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system which was first introduced in 1989, 34 years ago.
Under GardaSAFE, all calls requiring the dispatch of a Garda Resource are handled by Regional Control Centres, staffed with trained call takers and call dispatchers.
What are Regional Control Centres?
An Garda Síochána has operated a Regional Control Centre strategy for a number of years. There are four dedicated locations assigned across the four Regions and these are staffed by dedicated, specially trained staff, both sworn Garda members and Garda staff, and equipped with the specialist IT systems required to deal with emergency calls.
Regional Control Centres are located at
- Dublin Region, National Train Control Centre, Heuston Station
- North West Region, Garda Regional Headquarters, Murroe Rd, Galway
- South Region, Southern Region Headquarters, Anglesea Street Garda StationEast Region, Waterford Garda Station
The four Regional Control Centres are 100% staffed by Garda employees – Sworn Garda members and Garda Staff.
Where is GardaSAFE Operational?
GardaSAFE is currently operating in the Northwest, South and East Control Centres, covering most Garda Divisions (counties) outside of Dublin.
GardaSAFE will be operational in the Dublin Region by late 2023.
What has changed for the public?
When a member of the public calls their local Garda Station and the call requires the dispatch of a Garda resource, the call will be transferred to a qualified call taker at the Regional Control Centre who will handle your call and provide the fastest most suitable Garda response.
GardaSAFE will ensure that our community are receiving the best possible response.
What will not change?
All Garda Stations remain open to the public. If you need assistance, please contact us by telephone, email or by visiting your local station.
The public can continue to contact their local Garda stations by phone for routine enquiries or to speak with individual members of An Garda Síochána.
The public can continue to meet their local Gardaí by visiting their Garda station during publicised opening hours.
When should the public call 999/ 112:
The public should always call 999/112 in an emergency or urgent situation.
Emergency or urgent situations include when
- There is a danger to life
- There is immediate threat or risk of violence
- Someone has been or is being seriously assaulted
- Where serious damage has been or is being caused to property
- Any crime is on progress or about to happen
- The offender is at or close to the scene of a crime
- A serious public order incident has occurred or is occurring
- A serious Road Traffic Collision has occurred
In the case of an emergency dial 999/112
What happens if a member of the public contacts a local Garda station in an emergency or urgent situation?
The local Garda in the local Garda station can immediately alert the Regional Control Centre and local resources of the incident via the NDRS/ TETRA Radio system.
Once local resources are alerted the caller will be transferred to the Regional Control Centre.
What are the benefits of GardaSAFE to the public? GardaSAFE will
- Enhance and improve our response to those who need us
- Ensure that the publics call is received by trained call takers in an accurate and timely manner
- Ensure there is a digital audio recording of the call
What are the benefits of GardaSAFE to Garda members at Garda Stations? GardaSAFE will
- Free up Garda members/ Garda Staff at Garda Station to provide a better public counter service to the public
- Will provide a Web client view, available to all Garda members in stations nationwide, showing Incident and Resource information
- Remove the requirement for Garda members/ Garda staff at Garda stations to create and input incidents
What are the benefits of GardaSAFE to Frontline Garda members?
- Key information e.g. Warnings, Orders, Warrants can be easily added to the Incident
details for everyone’s benefit – safer for the Responder and safer for the public
- GardaSAFE app will integrate with Garda Mobility devices
- This provides the Responders with key information in relation to incidents to which they are dispatched on their mobility device
GardaSAFE App will integrate with other existing Garda apps e.g. Person Search, Vehicle Lookup, Fixed Charge Notices, Mapping etc…
What are the benefits of GardaSAFE to Control Room Operators?
GardaSAFE will provide control centre calltakers with
(A Garda calltaker is a member of Garda Staff full time assigned to the Regional Control Centre, trained and experienced in responding to telephone callers for service (99/ station calls)
- Phone number automatically populated if available and landline calls will present with eircode
- Location of the caller displayed on the new Garda mapping system which has been incorporated
- Previous contact from the same number is automatically displayed giving the call taker a historical view of information relevant to the caller
- Drop down lists and pre-formatted questionnaires aid data capture
GardaSAFE will provide control centre dispatchers with
(A Garda dispatcher, is a sworn member of An Garda Síochána, full time assigned to the Regional Control Room, trained and experienced in dispatching and controlling resources, responding to call for service from members of the public)
- identify the most efficient and most appropriate response to any call
- ensure that the most appropriate Garda resources are available to respond to calls for service from the public, including situations where a local resource is not immediately available.
- identify caller location from maps and Eircode
- PULSE and the Schengen Information System (SIS) are automatically queried in relation to Persons, Vehicles and Locations to assist decision making in relation to the
Garda response
- Key information e.g. Warnings, Orders, Warrants can be easily added to the Incident
details for everyone’s benefit – safer for the Responder and safer for the public
- A new Automatic Vehicle and Personnel Location System (AVPLS) is incorporated in the system and provides Dispatchers with a view of available Resources (responders) on the map along with Incidents
GardaSAFE will provide control centre supervisors and Garda management with
- more efficient use of our resources
- Advanced reporting capabilities as well as real-time views of data in relation to
Incidents and Resources
- enhanced governance of the system
- Numerous business rules incorporated e.g. Incident priority changes restricted, Incident Closure restrictions etc…
- A new and enhanced integration with PULSE enables more Incident detail to be sent to PULSE to facilitate more convenient and accurate Incident creation by the GISC call handlers
- The system is highly configurable to help future proof for changes as required and will be administered by Garda personnel
How are calls prioritised?
Calls for service are prioritised for response, based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the information provided by the caller at the time and the level of response requested by the caller.
Higher priority calls will always take priority over lower priority calls.
Are calls to Regional Control Centres recorded?
Yes, all calls received at Regional Control Centres are recorded.
GardaSAFE facilitates immediate playback of calls received to facilitate accurate control of a live incident.
Calls received at Garda Control Centres may be required as part of the investigative response to any particular incident.
Will you know where I am when I call?
In most cases yes. All calls to 999 will include location data. Calls transferred from stations will not automatically present the same data.
What happens if I am being transferred and I get disconnected or my phone dies but I’ve conveyed my emergency? [Will someone come anyway?]
Yes, if you have given your details you will be contacted.
What types of local calls need to go through to the control room and GardaSAFE?
Calls that require the dispatch of a Responder.
When I call my local station what happens and what information will be needed / asked?
You will be asked for your name and contact number and then you will be transferred to the regional control centre.
What information will be needed/asked when I am transferred to the call taker?
Name, address (especially Eircode if available), phone number, date of birth, email address, and details of the reason for the call.
Why do you need this information – how does it help me get a response?
Eircode helps to locate where the responders are needed, date of birth helps us identify the caller for future reference and potentially identify vulnerability, email communications may suit the caller in some scenarios.
The phone number as it will help identify any previous calls made from this number.
What is the GardaSAFE App?
This is an app developed by the Garda app developers and integrates with GardaSAFE to display Incident information on the Responders mobility device.
How is it used?
When a Responder is dispatched to an Incident they receive relevant details to their device.
Who is using it/where?
Approximately 1,500 Responders have it across the Galway, Cork and Waterford Divisions.
How many are trained to use it?
All who have it have received information and instructions on the use of the app.
Statistics Section:
Data:
- Number of Mobility Devices – 13,000
- Number of Digital vehicles – 130
- Number of Staff on GardaSAFE APP – 1,500
- Number of Staff on Person Search APP – 10,000
- Number of Staff on Traffic APP – 10,000
- No of staff on FCN App – 10,000
- No of FCNs issued on FCN App – 450,000
Control Room Statistics
- On average, 12,000 Contact Records and 8,500 Incidents are created weekly across the 3 live GardaSAFE control centres. Not all calls result in the creation of an Incident e.g. request for information.
- We’ve had 195,000 Contact Records and 135,000 Incidents created on GardaSAFE since initial go-live on the 20th March.
- On average, 7,500 Incidents are automatically passed to Pulse per week from the 3 live control centres.
- Over 740 SIS hits have been automatically returned as a result of the integration with that system
- Close to 200,000 Pulse searches take place automatically each month in GardaSAFE across the 3 live control centres
- 30-40% increase in calls to Control Centres under GardaSAFE compared to pre GardaSAFE due to Call Transfers
- In total, close to 775,000 Incidents were created in the CAD1 system in 2022