MILFORD could lose its ‘District Headquarters’ status under a new Garda restructuring strategy.
Donegal’s most senior officers have been informed that the county will be cut from four Garda districts – Buncrana, Letterkenny, Ballyshannon and Milford – to three.
And while An Garda Síochána’s top table is at pains to say little will change on the ground, local officers fear that downgrading Milford station will impact negatively on the availability and visibility of personnel in communities.
Superintendent David Kelly will chair a meeting in PCC Falcarragh on Wednesday evening under the banner ‘The Future of Policing for the Milford District’.
He is likely to face questions on what the county’s new policing model will look like once the new boundaries are drawn.
One possible scenario is that officers will be moved out of Milford and into Letterkenny.
Another is that a line will be drawn through west Donegal with some areas shifting to the Ballyshannon Garda district.
Brendan O’Connor is President of the Garda Representative Association (GRA).
He said it appeared little has been learnt from a similar restructuring exercise implemented a decade ago.
“While there has been no engagement with the GRA, I understand that significant changes are being planned and it appears to be the case that Milford will no longer be a ‘District Headquarters’ as they are called now, or an ‘Operational Area’ as they will be known as under the new operating model.”
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