New Garda powers to harass and search people, if you agree to it!

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday April 11, 2003 15:54 by Mags

An odd incident that took place last night in Central Dublin.

A group of us came out of the Sidewalk Bar on Cathal Brugha Street at about 1am. We had been watching the Celtic game and there was a band afterwards. There wasn’t a big crowd there – about 100 altogether – and we were among the last leaving. There had been no trouble and none of us was visibly drunk, about 3-4 pints only had been taken.

In the street there was a Garda ‘meat wagon’ and about 12 cops. We saw them stop a group of four Celtic fans across the street and check their pockets, then let them walk on. The cops then spread out and stopped anyone on Cathal Brugha Street, in effect just people coming from the Sidewalk as there were few people on the street.

A copper approached myself and two friends. He said that he wanted to search us and that this was ‘new’. I asked him why he wanted to search us and under what Act. This had him flummoxed and he said "Oh No, it is only voluntary, you don’t have to be searched if you don’t want to be.’ So we politely declined and went on our way.

So what is this all about? Are they sending young coppers out on the street who are too stupid to even know the old ‘Misuse of Drugs Act’ ploy to be nosy? Is it just childish harassment of football fans? Or is there something else going on?

Not trying to be paranoid, but the concept of voluntary searches on the street seems a supreme waste of Garda time, but then again we would not have known it was voluntary only for the copper being challenged.

I’d be curious to know if anyone else has had an experience like this lately.