GARDAI UNWILLING TO CHANGE WILL BE SHOWN THE DOOR

Report advises redundancy for unruly officers

OFFICERS resisting ‘transformative’ changes in An Garda Síochána should be targeted for redundancy, a major review of the force has proposed.

In a wide-ranging report, the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland has suggested sweeping reforms in the beleaguered force.

Key among its recommendations are that there should be fewer senior gardaí, with a greater emphasis on ‘community

policing’ with scope for more localised decision-making.

The vast tranche of recommendations – which Commission chairwoman Kathleen O’Toole said are ‘ambitious’ and achievable’ – push for more transparency, professionalism, increased security for officers and the promoting of a more open culture within the force.

A rather timely proposal in the 109-page report – given the recent sinister online attacks against a serving garda – is the creation of a ‘National Cyber Security Centre’.

In an example of reducing the amount of chiefs and increasing the amount of Indians in the force, the Commission says the responsibilities currently allocated to six Garda assistant commissioners based in regional offices should be transferred to three senior officers based in Garda Headquarters in Dublin.

Ms O’Toole, the former head of the Garda Inspectorate, said: ‘There are critical systemic issues related to structure, accountability mechanisms, management processes and culture that must be addressed. There is an urgent need for comprehensive and fundamental change and it is imperative to deliver it now.’

The Commission recommends a ‘one-off targeted severance package’ should be made available to officers resisting change. It states: ‘Having met many members of An Garda Síochána and heard the views of many

‘Voicing concerns is encouraged’

more, we are confident that the majority wants change of the kind we have proposed.

‘However, it is to be expected and entirely understandable that not all personnel will want to go through the kind of transformation that we envisage. We therefore recommend that a one-off targeted severance option should be available for management to deploy.’

The Commission goes on to recommend a ‘flatter’ structure in the force ‘with a lower senior management ratio’ saying the new Garda Commissioner Drew Harris ‘should reduce the top heaviness of the organisation’.

It states: ‘A less hierarchical and open culture overall means that all members of the organisation, sworn and non-sworn, should feel empowered and encouraged to speak up when they have concerns or ideas.’

The report also proposes a new framework for policing, including the establishment of a new structure to address global security threats and terrorism; a new ombudsman to address accountability; and greater powers for the Garda Commissioner.

The ombudsman which investigates complaints against the force should be given enhanced powers and a new name, replacing the Gsoc, title, to deliver an advanced complaints system, and would supersede oversight bodies the Policing Authority and the Garda Inspectorate.

It would carry out all investigations into individuals, incidents, and systemic issues, and police would no longer be investigating themselves. It also says another new body, the Policing and Community Safety Commission, should supersede both the Policing Authority and the Garda Inspectorate, absorbing most of their functions.

Other proposed reforms include a new approach to policing and community safety, to tackle issues of visibility in certain communities, and a plan to deploy body-worn cameras.

The report also suggests appointments and promotions should no longer be within the remit of the Policing Authority, and will be handed back to the Garda – a move that could be contentious for some within the force who claim it is cronyist.

‘The Commissioner must be given power to run the organisation otherwise the Commissioner is destined to fail,’ Ms O’Toole said. ‘We think it’s important that he should have the opportunity to select his own team.’

The force has come under intense scrutiny in recent years and has been described as being in dire need of reform. A false breath test figures scandal in 2017 prompted Taoiseach Leo

Varadkar to declare ‘crucial and essential’ Garda reform was needed.

The then Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan stepped down following the onslaught of several controversies, including the over-inflated breath test figures, the Disclosures Tribunal, which is investigating how the force treats whistleblowers, and a Public Accounts Committee investigation into financial mismanagement at Templemore.

The Commission was established by the Government in May 2017 to develop a blueprint for the future of the service. The review was headed up by former Seattle Police chief Ms O’Toole.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said he hoped much of the report’s recommendations could be implemented by 2022. However, the Government has not fully committed to funding the entire raft of recommendations.

Commissioner Drew Harris said the report’s recommendations would help to deliver better policing. ‘It is important that we carefully consider the implementation of this report,’ he said.

THE publication yesterday of the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland represented a potentially positive landmark development for the State... if the recommendations contained in it are implemented.

That ‘if’ is the problem, isn’t it? We’re reasonably good at identifying problems in this country. We’re also not bad at coming up with ideas as to solve those problems. But implementation? That’s where we so often fall down, for all sorts of reasons.

It’s often money: we simply don’t have enough to do what’s required, or it is wasted by spending too much of it on the wrong things. Or vested interests chip away at what is proposed to protect their own positions. Or there simply isn’t the will to do what is required, because responsibility is passed on to other people, instead of people taking ownership of what is suggested.

There is little doubt but that major reform is required. As Kathleen O’Toole, the Commission chairperson, told me on The Last Word yesterday: ‘A successful police service is essential to any democracy’. Instead, An Garda Síochána has had a rotten few years in which public trust and confidence in the force has been eroded. That has to be changed.

Controversy

The circumstances of the departure of the last two Garda Commissioners have been the source of considerable controversy. We await the findings of the Charleton tribunal into the treatment of whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe who, it should be remembered, came to fame because he revealed details of the corrupt discharge of penalty points for road traffic offences. We have learnt how the gardaí couldn’t count breathalyser tests. The list goes on.

Yet we all know how important a properly functioning Garda force is to the well-being of this State. We must have confidence in the ability of the gardaí to protect law-abiding citizens. If you have seen the video circulating widely yesterday on social media of alleged criminal drug dealers beating up a man who apparently owes money, you will understand the type of people with whom the gardaí have to deal. They have all sorts of difficult tasks with which they have to deal, many involving violence and even death. It can be far from an easy job.

Yet it has to be done properly. The Government’s own terms of reference, in setting up the Commission that reported yesterday, recognised the extent of the problems and did not dodge them. It realised that previous efforts, such as the establishment of a new oversight framework in the Garda Authority and the ongoing implementation of a reform programme within the force did not address all of the concerns about the accountability of An Garda Síochána, its leadership and management capacity and its culture and ethos. The Government realised that the force had to adapt to 21st century issues of transparency, accountability and professionalism, the changing nature of crime, the changing nature of society and the need for proactive, routine and continuous engagement with local communities.

Some might wonder if it is possible to deal with such a long list. Well, it is. It has been done on this island in this century already. The establishment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, as a reformed replacement to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, is a shining example of what can be done if the will is there. That Drew Harris, its former deputy chief constable, is now our Commissioner, is very encouraging in that regard.

Foundation

He has a roadmap to use, because all of the contentious issues are addressed in the report produced by the committee led by the formidable American policewoman Kathleen O’Toole. It has taken its lead from the PSNI in one very significant respect: it has declared that human rights should be the foundation and purpose of our policing and said the Garda should create a Human Rights Unit that would ‘implement and monitor strategy’ to ensure ‘better human rights protection’. It also said that human rights training should be the starting point of a Garda recruit’s course and a theme running though every aspect of it.

Some might see that as politically correct claptrap but it actually makes great sense. An Garda Síochána is there to serve the people. As Ms O’Toole told me, the work of gardaí is not just to uphold the law, investigate crime and maintain order, but to provide assistance to people in need. It may be too much to say the gardaí are glorified social workers because they don’t have the level of training required to act as such, but providing assistance and help, and doing so with a level of empathy, is an important part of the job. It is often gardaí who have to deal with issues of public health and safety, with addicts and homelessness.

Much of what Ms O’Toole wants the organisation to do is very interesting. She wants businesses, schools and voluntary organisations to become involved in what are called local policing partnerships. She wants an emphasis on community safety and a stronger focus on the prevention of harm. This, of course, will make demands of existing and new gardaí but it is a challenge they should embrace. It will require superior levels of education and training to what they receive at present and what is called life-long learning or continued professional development.

This may be difficult to achieve at a time when morale in An Garda Síochána is somewhat shaken. But if the long overdue correct equipment and facilities are supplied – adequate computerisation, mobile phones (so gardaí don’t have to use their own), clothing that allows for the mounting of safety cameras and better cars to get them around – then it is likely that most gardaí would buy into the new dispensation.

Prosecutions

The committee seems determined to give the opportunity to police. It sees great opportunity to use civilians in stations to do form-filling and other work – although we have heard that countless times over the last two decades – allowing gardaí to get out and about.

Interestingly, it wants decisions about prosecutions to be taken from gardaí. That will save enormous time in the courts but would also help to remove some of the contention that develops between the gardaí and the community.

O’Toole and her committee have consulted widely but they are not soft touches. She does not agree with the idea of adding numbers to the force as if that alone would sort out all the issues: she wants confirmation instead the resources that are there are being used correctly. She was not required to budget but she wants value for money.

This report is no ivory tower project. It has been produced after detailed consultation with relevant partners. With 50 recommendations, it has far more than is detailed on this page. The question now is whether or not the Government is determined to provide all the relevant supports and whether Harris has the strength of ambition and character to act as he is being encouraged.

With a mind to that, this report continues a chapter on implementation and a target date of 2022 for getting all of the elements done. It looks as if we may all benefit if that becomes self-fullfilling.