Government to examine radical plan to get gardaí back on the beat
A radical plan to put gardaí back on the beat in communities in new “mini police services” has been presented to the Government with the challenge to implement it within four years.
The Policing Commission recommends a new ‘district policing model’ in which “preventing harm” is a new focus and where all local garda staff are considered community police, with an overarching function to “keep communities safe”.
The report, chaired by Kathleen O’Toole, has received initial statements of welcome from various groups, but some questions have been raised about a lack of costing and detail.
The 100-page Future of Policing in Ireland report recommends:
- An urgent ‘tooling up’ of frontline members with modern, mobile technology;
- Multi-agency crisis intervention teams to provide round-the-clock support in conjunction with social workers and health workers in situations involving mental health, substance abuse, children at risk, and other emergencies;
- Removing gardaí from non-core duties such as prosecuting cases in courts, inquest duties, security at courts, prisoner escorts, serving summonses, attending minor traffic accidents;
- Establishment of a strategic threat analysis centre (Stac) to collate and analyse intelligence and threats to national security and the creation of a national security co-ordinator reporting to the Taoiseach;
- An independent examiner of terrorist and serious crime legislation and a call for a comprehensive review of security legislation;
- A new policing and community safety oversight commission (combining the Policing Authority and the Garda Inspectorate);
- Removing the power to appoint senior officers from the Policing Authority back to the Garda commissioner to enable the Garda chief to appoint “his or her own leadership team”;
- A new Garda Síochána board — a recommendation that contained the only minority view in the report, with two members (Vicky Conway and Eddie Molloy) disagreeing.
The report called for an “urgent overhaul” of complaints at the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (to be renamed the Independent Office of the Police Ombudsman) where investigations are seen as having a “punitive approach”. It said inquiries should investigate “incidents rather than individuals”.
The report recommends a one-off severance package to allow management to “support restructuring and reform” as well as an “urgent, thorough overhaul” of crime investigation.
The commissioner will remain directly accountable to the minister for justice.
Ms O’Toole said the top four priorities were: setting up the implementation group; setting up Stac; allowing the commissioner to appoint his own leadership team; and establishing the Garda Síochána board.
The commission said that all staff in the ‘new district police’ model would be ‘community police’ and be “rapidly equipped” with digital devices.
It said: “All should see themselves as part of a single district policing team working to keep their communities safe.”
The report, with 50 recommendations, said a reduced number of divisions, within which these districts operate, should be self-sufficient with their own budgets, finance, and HR teams.
“In effect, a division should be, for most policing purposes, a mini police service in its own right,” it said.
Commissioner Drew Harris said he would examine the report. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said his officials would “move quickly” on establishing an implementation group.
The Garda Representative Association “warmly welcomed” the report but said it would “gather dust” if the changes weren’t funded. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties said, if implemented, the report would “support a radical reform process”.
