Gardaí regularly assault homeless, says priest
Fr McVerry urged the new Garda Inspectorate to investigate complaint patterns which he says will identify gardaí guilty of frequent assaults on the homeless.
Fr McVerry said allegations of assault on the homeless while in custody repeatedly involved the same personnel.
“If a proper investigation was done, it would find names of the same stations and the same gardaí coming up again and again at the time these assaults were alleged to have taken place,” he said.
Fr McVerry named four Dublin stations; however, their locations cannot be published for legal reasons.
“These are the stations I have first-hand knowledge of, but I would be quite certain that it (assault on the homeless), is broader than that.
“I would like to see trained independent investigators carrying out an investigation into these complaints and looking at patterns that emerge. That option should be open to the new Inspectorate.”
Details of the proposed Garda Inspectorate, unveiled last week by
Justice Minister Michael McDowell, revealed that only the most serious allegations would be dealt with by the inspectorate itself. Less serious complaints would continue to be dealt with internally, but with the oversight of the inspectorate.
Fr McVerry said he was not convinced complaints of assault by the homeless, which he said ranged from a “few thumps to quite severe beatings”, would be looked at seriously by the inspectorate.
“It’s the young homeless lad’s word against the gardaí, usually with no independent witness. At this stage, many of them don’t bother complaining to the Garda Complaints Board (GCB) because of fear of an even bigger bashing the next time.”
Fine Gael Deputy John Deasy said he agreed with Fr McVerry that an “adversarial vibe” had developed between gardaí and certain elements of the community.
“It is fair to say that a totally adversarial relationship has developed between the gardaí and some urban working-class communities, but the problem is one of garda manpower and under-resourcing.”
A Garda Complaints Board spokesman refused to comment on Fr McVerry’s claims, other than to say that the level of co-operation generally from gardaí in its treatment of complaints was good.
