By Darragh McDonagh

Students at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) are in the process of assembling a private police force to patrol local estates in a bid to curb anti-social behaviour.

The students union at GMIT will begin recruiting next week for the uniformed unit, which will patrol estates in the vicinity of the college at night and provide a hotline for local residents in the event of disturbances.

The union decided to take the radical action in the wake of a spate of anti-social behaviour incidents by students during the last academic year, which it described as “one of the worst years ever”.

Interviews for the paid positions commence next Monday, and it is anticipated that up to 10 patrol officers will be in place and on duty each night in time for Fresher’s Week in two weeks’ time.

The pilot scheme is being funded by GMIT, although it is hoped that the programme will become self-financing in the future if it receives support and nominal fees from landlords and local residents.

There will be one mobile patrol unit on duty each night in control of a hotline, which can be called by residents who experience a disturbance or witness anti-social behaviour. They can then move to the location or dispatch another member to the site of the disturbance.

Members of the student patrol will note the identity of the complainant, the nature of the problem and the address of the house concerned. Upon arrival, they will record the number of people involved and the noise level of the disturbance.The patrol officers will request that the offending party desist from the anti-social behaviour but will be instructed not to confront perpetrators or enter houses.

The reports of the student patrol will be referred to the college’s disciplinary committee, which has powers to suspend, fine or expel students who bring the institute into disrepute on or off the college campus.

Read more in this week's Connacht Sentinel