They're called "gardai" in Ireland, Amos. The singular is "garda." It's short for "An Garda Siochana" or, in English, "The Guardians of the Peace." I've known some of them, and they should be added to the Great Dictum Of Bee-Dubya-Ell.

By the way, the singular form is pronounced "guard-a" and the plural "guard-ee". The uniformed gardai are unarmed except for a wooden truncheon -- if by "unarmed" you mean "they don't carry firearms on their person."