Farce of the Garda Facebook ban
Garda union boss says they are f ighting online crime with one hand tied behind their backs – and speaks out on proposed reform of the force
THE head of the union representing Garda sergeants and inspectors has said that gardaí are trying to investigate online crime with one hand tied behind their backs.
In an exclusive interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, the president of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, Antoinette Cunningham, said the average garda on the front line cannot even access Facebook – unless they use their own device.
The respected sergeant, who marked one year in her role as president in April, said it is ‘fundamentally wrong’ that a garda has to use his or her own laptop or tablet to track and trace a crime perpetrated on social media.
‘We have been talking about it for years and years, and let’s be upfront and honest that a lot of crime is being done through the medium of social media and we cannot access the sites,’ she said.
‘If you go into a Garda station today you cannot access Facebook… and that is fundamentally wrong in my view.’
Another problem is access to laptops and up-to-date CCTV viewing software that lets gardaí identify suspects. Detectives are having to use their own personal laptops, borrow colleagues’ equipment or drive to the nearest station where there is a laptop available.
The AGSI president also said the proposed ‘root and branch’ Garda review is a positive development, but she would like to know what is involved: ‘How it will be carried out, who will carry it out, will it be report-based, and if it is, when will that report be returned back to Government?’
Ms Cunningham is concerned her members will not be consulted as part of any review of the force.
‘A major concern of AGSI in the establishment of all of these commissions and reforms and root and branch examinations and everything else is that we, the representation of the main supervisory group, would not be consulted in that,’ she said.
‘This is a difficulty we have had in the past where people carry out reviews and examinations, but they never ask the very people who work within it. I would urge government that any examination or any group that are examining, reforming, commission of inquiry, or whatever it is, please consult with the stakeholders involved, because change cannot happen successfully unless you bring people on board with it.’
On the Policing Authority, Ms Cunningham said that it hasn’t had much significance for gardaí at ground level.
‘The Policing Authority has the power under statute to examine all aspects of policing. We have seen a number of meetings where they have brought the Garda Commissioner and executive team into meetings. They are in a position to ask the difficult questions and to get the answers, and if that helps policing overall I would have to regard it as positive,’ she said.
‘But I can’t really say that at ground level they have had any impact. I am not sure we have seen any significant changes as a result of anything they have done. They have published a code of ethics.’
Ms Cunningham also said that the AGSI membership was not happy with the failure of the then Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to turn up at their conference last April: ‘Our members were extremely disappointed that she could not find the time in her diary to attend at our conference.
‘I think [in] what has been one of the most difficult years for AGSI, our members rely on hearing from the person who has overall responsibility for policing and justice in Ireland. I understand she said she had previous commitments and her calendar was full... but I am just disappointed because the membership was disappointed.’
Ms Cunningham said that the Government did not take Garda concerns about pay seriously last year, resulting in them almost going on strike for the first time in the force’s history.
She added that they will be entering into new pay discussions in the near future – and that they have been assured they will have a seat at the main table this time.
‘People must be on board for change to happen’ ‘The Policing Authority has had no impact’