278 gardaí for every 100,000 people; Irish policing figures among lowest in Europe
Ireland's level of policing is among one of the lowest in Europe.
New figures from the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, show the Irish police-to-population ratio is less than the European average.
Ireland has 278 officers per 100,000 of the population.
But security analyst, Declan Power says numbers are not the problem - it is more important how Gardaí are actually used on a day to day basis.
He said: "To put it into perspective, I think what most people...would be concerned about is not the number of an Garda Síochána, but how they're deployed.
"One of the big reforms that Commissioner Harris will be trying to facilitate over the next few years is the civilianisation of certain jobs.
"If we can get that right that produces far more Gardaí for policing duties...on the street."
