'We are actually normal people' - new RTÉ series goes on the Beat with Waterford gardai

The day-to-day challenges faced by gardai in Waterford features on a new mini-series which is being broadcast on RTE television.

On The Beat, which was recorded over a three-month period, the series goes behind the front desks, inside the patrol cars and on the beat with frontline gardaí in Waterford, Dundalk and Longford and Waterford. 

From street crime and mental health “callouts” to combating violent or serious criminals viewers will see the challenges and issues being faced by the gardaí policing urban and rural Ireland.

The series, which is broadcast on RTÉ One at 9.35pm on Mondays, follows a number of different gardaí, ranging in age and rank, as they carry out their daily duties. 

From foot and car patrol, station front desk and support work, criminal investigations through to community policing and supporting regional or national garda operations. 

The first episode, which can be viewed on the RTÉ Player, featured Garda Sean Whyte and Garda Clodagh Horgan who are stationed in Waterford city.

One of the incidents which they responded to related to the theft of a number of bottles of alcohol from a supermarket.

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Speaking on WLR's Deise Today after the programme was broadcast, Garda Horgan said having cameras following them was strange at first.

"Sometimes the job is hard enough and then when you have a camera in the back of the car and a camera following you around at incidents - I suppose and you don't know what kind of reaction you are going to get from the public but overall it was fairly positive," she said.

"At the end of the day we have a job to do and it's real life and even though there are cameras following you you still have to do the job and you are dealing with people who have real-life issues - you just have to forget the cameras are there," she added.

Garda Whyte, who admitted he was 'a ball of anxiety' before seeing the final programme, said it did take some time to get used to the cameras and being mic'd-up. "As the weeks kind of went on, you just got into the car and forgot about them (cameras and microphones) and you didn't think about them after that," he said.

Gardai Horgan says the reaction to the series, so far, has been positive, "It painted a picture that we are actually normal people - it wasn't all us reaming off the law or anything like that - we are normal people just doing a job at the end of the day."

Episode 2 of On the Beat will be broadcast on RTÉ One television at 9.35pm this Monday.