THE replacement for the Joint Policing Committees (JPC) will have a broader remit as well as a broader membership which will include community representatives, young people, and members of minority communities.
The JPCs were disbanded last year to be replaced by Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSPs) with pilot partnerships having taken place in Longford, Waterford, and Dublin’s north inner city in recent years. It is envisaged that the LCSPs will be established sometime in March of this year.
However, some councillors in other local authorities criticised the move last year claiming it would see less elected representatives on the panel to allow for more people across the community to be included. The JPCs were established to develop greater consultation and cooperation on policing and crime issues between gardaí, local authorities, and elected local representatives.
The JPCs reviewed levels and patterns of crime and served as a forum for consultation, discussions, and recommendations on policing and crime within local authority administrative areas. The last Cork County JPC meeting took place on January 22nd 2024.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told The Southern Star that the new approach to Community Safety is about people being safe and feeling safe in their community and goes beyond the traditional policing response to a whole of government, whole of society approach.
‘LCSPs will operate at local authority level and will include residents, local councillors, community representatives (including representatives of young people, older people, new and minority communities), business and education representatives and a range of public services including the HSE, Tusla, An Garda Síochána and the local authority,’ they added.
The spokesperson added that it is intended that LCSPs will be established following the commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, which is due to occur in early March.
Cork North West Fianna Fáil TD Aindrias Moynihan, who was a member of the Cork county JPC, said it’s hugely important that elected public representatives, whether councillors or Oireachtas members are on these panels.
