Irish Garda police force, office with blue lamp, 44 O'Connell Street Upper, North City, Dublin 1, D01 KD74, Ireland

The Garda Síochána meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí ("Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are in Dublin's Phoenix Park. Since the formation of the Garda Síochána in 1923, it has been a predominantly unarmed force, and more than three-quarters of the force do not routinely carry firearms. As of 31 December 2019, the police service had 14, 708 sworn members (including 458 sworn Reserve members) and 2, 944 civilian staff. Operationally, the Garda Síochána is organised into four geographical regions: the East, North/West, South and Dublin Metropolitan regions. The force is the main law enforcement agency in the state, acting at local and national levels. Its roles include crime detection and prevention, drug enforcement, road traffic enforcement and accident investigation, diplomatic and witness protection responsibilities. It also provides a community policing service. The service was originally named the Civic Guard in English, but in 1923 it became the Garda Síochána in both English and Irish. This title has been maintained in recent legislation. This is usually translated as "the Guardians of the Peace". Garda Síochána na hÉireann appears on its logo but is seldom used elsewhere. At that time, there was a vogue for naming the new institutions of the Irish Free State after counterparts in the French Third Republic; the term "guardians of the peace" (gardiens de la paix, literally 'peacekeepers') had been used since 1870 in French-speaking countries to designate civilian police forces as distinguished from the armed gendarmery, notably municipal police in France, communal guards in Belgium and cantonal police in Switzerland