Uniformed gardaí are being issued with Taser guns as part of a six-month trial.
It has long been a point of pride in Ireland that the police force are not armed unlike their European counterparts. And while these guns fire electric shocks and not bullets, this is change in how the gardaí police the streets.
It will be the first time that frontline gardaí will be armed with stun guns and marks a significant step for An Garda Síochána, whose frontline personnel are not armed.
So does this move bring closer the day when the Garda will be an armed force? How will it change the way the gardaí interact with the public? And why now?
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The trial involves about 130 gardaí in Dublin’s north inner city and south inner city, as well as the Waterford-Kilkenny division. Those areas have been chosen because they are also the divisions where body cameras are currently being trialled.
Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains.
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.
