There have been 70 spit attacks on gardai in the past five weeks, it has been revealed.
Disgusting assaults on officers took place between April 8 and May 16 and some alleged offences are now before the courts.
However, An Garda Siochana reported that the level of compliance with health guidelines has been excellent, with officers having to use new laws just 241 times since they were brought in.
During this time, gardai have interacted with hundreds of thousands of people while on patrol or at checkpoints and report that the vast majority were adhering to the public health guidelines.
These include both arrests and incidents without arrest where name and address details were taken for consultation with the DPP on the decision to issue charges and arrest remains a last resort.
Commissioner Drew Harris said: “There has been a high level of compliance with the public health guidelines to date. I want to thank the public for that.
“But, from this week, the country is entering another critical phase.
“It is vital that we all continue to play our part in reducing the spreading of COVID-19 by adhering to the updated public health guidelines.
“At the outset of the COVID-19 situation, I said that An Garda Síochána will continue to operate as a community-based policing service with a focus on protecting the vulnerable. This approach will not change during this new phase.”
“Regrettably, these reprehensible spitting and coughing attacks on our personnel continue. “These are a significant health and safety risk to our members in the current environment.
“We must protect them from such attacks.”
The Garda policy and use of anti-spit guards will be reviewed by An Garda Síochána in September 2020.
