Ready? Set. Go!
I did my Work Experience at Blanchardstown Garda Station, Dublin and I have to say, I had such a good time there! I was introduced to so many people (so many hands to shake!) who were all really nice and then shown around the station. One of the first big jobs I had to do was help Garda Keith and Garda Alex of the Community Policing unit in the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown. It was open day at the college and so the Gardaí had a stand in the hall along with other colleges such as Trinity, Dublin City University (DCU) etc. It was Keith and Alex's job to promote joining an Garda Síochána and answer questions. There was so much people coming up it was unreal. I listened to the answers the Keith and Alex were giving so in time, I was answering peoples queries too!! (very proud of myself) So, if you have any questions on joining an Garda Síochána, feel free to ask me ;) Keith and Alex were so friendly and absolutely hilarious! One thing that I learned from my Work Experience would be that the Gardaí are a bant and a half - whether you deem that to be a beneficial lesson is up to you.
Another big experience I had was sitting in on a daily briefing on Wednesday. It is when the Inspectors of the Station sit the other Gardaí - this includes people from the Community Policing unit, Drugs unit, etc.-down and tell everyone what needs to be done, reviews on performance, information on e.g stolen vehicles and other things along the lines of that. Inspector Kelly and Inspector Bergin are the Inspectors in Blanchardstown and the Superintendent of Blanchardstown, Superintendent Clavin, also sits in on the briefings. Sometimes, luckily on that particular Wednesday, the Chief Superintendent of the K District (Blanchardstown, Cabra and Finglas) - Chief Superintedent Coburn, sits in too. Overall, the Inspectors are the ones who spear head the briefings. I found it really interesting to listen to the jobs everyone was allocated with and to hear about the crimes that happened/were solved. Blanchardstown is up there with the busiest stations in Ireland so there is always a lot going on. I know, I know... there was a lot of big words in the last few lines but hopefully things get neater from here on in.
One of the BEST parts of my time in the station was working with the Drugs unit!! These people are my idols!! They were telling me all these stories about "drug busts" and how the criminals make the drugs it was so interesting I just sat there awestruck. Might I add that the Drugs unit is probably the most dangerous area to be in in an Garda Síochána. When they find drugs they seize it, hold it in the office in the station, then send it to the Depot to be tested. They had some drugs in the office which they were about to send to the Depot in sealed bags with the Garda crest on them so they showed me them. I held €70,00 worth of cocaine my hands people!!! In MY hands! (well it was in a bag but still!) It was such a crazy experience :o Then I got to hold one of the guy's guns (unloaded obviously) but I still mentally pretended to shoot and made PEW PEW sounds inside my head....ahem. Also, I got to try on a bulletproof vest. I will never forget my time with the Drug's unit to say the least.
I also attended a few presentations held by the Gardaí. For example, I went to a meeting for the owners of the shops in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre about security, fire hazards etc. (it was held because we're coming up to Christmas) Here, I met the Parish Priest and all I can say is ... What. A. Man. I sat beside him for the presentation and had a grand old chat. He is possibly the coolest priest ever! He has a Blackberry! A BLACKBERRY! Anyways, another presentation I attended was one for local licensed (as in, permitted to sell alcohol) businesses - pubs, restaurants, so on, so forth. I had to help set up the projector, the posters and then afterward I cleaned up the room. There was a slide show on the laws and legislations and then another on crime prevention. Again, Chief Superintendent Moore, Superintendent Clavin and many other Inspectors, Detective Inspectors and Sergeants attended. I actually learned a lot from those slide shows. And, I was also introduced to the Chief Superintendent so I felt really important - sad, I know.
Of course I did small jobs like filing, printing, stamping forms, organising work and random other simple jobs but I was never bored. Everything was so new to me that I guess I never lost interest.
Well there you go. The post you've all been waiting for - well, maaaybe not.
I have to say, I have gained soooo much from my Work Experience. I have learned that I can cope really well in sticky situations, that I have no problem introducing myself and that I can learn quickly. I'm also happy because it turns out, I'm not the worst at public speaking :D
I'm doing another week of Work Experience next week which I'm so excited for!! ^.^
I want to thank everyone at Blanchardstown Garda Síochána so, so much for making me feel welcome and for giving me one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Oh, and hope you liked the lemon cheesecake I baked for you ;)
Finally, the end of the longest posts in the history of Sarah Smarties.
C'est tout pour le instant! x
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