Reform of Garda long overdue

IRISH people who have lived overseas for any length of time frequently appreciate the gardaí more than most.

Others have tended to take it for granted that we have a civilian, unarmed and impartial police force instead of the politicised militias which frequently mishandle policing in some neighbouring mainland European states.

Let us not exaggerate our previous love for the men and women in blue and use that exaggeration to overplay how that affection is now shattered by the revelations in recent days. The plain fact is that policing is a largely thankless job and in the best of societies many law-abiding people dislike contact with the police because they fear it will cost them in some shape or form.

But comparatively speaking the members of the Garda Síochána have long enjoyed a special and rather easy-going relationship with the bulk of society. And it is therefore difficult to conceive of more serious allegations against police officers than those which the Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday laid against two gardaí in Donegal.

It is equally difficult to think of a more grievous harm being done to someone than that done to nightclub owner Frank Shortt, a man who spent 27 months in jail and lost his livelihood because of bogus evidence fabricated by those gardaí. So we learn that planting evidence and fitting up people for crimes is not the sole preserve of notorious British police forces such as that of the West Midlands Division who gave us the Birmingham Six among other travesties.

Three Supreme Court judges are no hotheads or leftist radicals out to do down authority. Their judgment was explicit and devastatingly unambiguous. It is a tribute to those judges’ honesty and courage that such fairness can still prevail. If their findings are acted upon we can all benefit. But the circumstances of how the case came to light are equally worrying. In simple terms it was the acrimonious break-up of the marriage of one of the gardaí concerned which led to hard evidence coming to light. We are left to wonder what might have happened if the couple remained together or indeed parted on more amiable terms. That in turn leads us to question what other delights the gardaí have cooked up over the years and how many wronged others are hidden from our view as a result. And such thoughts eat away at our confidence in the Garda Síochána generally. The circumstances of the Shortt case and of other parallel cases in Co Donegal are complicated by myriad cross-cutting legal actions. But there are signs that Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne and Justice Minister Michael McDowell are ready for some prompt action at long last. The biggest surprise for most ordinary citizens is the manner in which the vast majority of gardaí, who do their job fairly and honestly, have tolerated a minority of wrongdoers. An unhealthy culture of secrecy has been allowed prevail for too long within the force. Individual gardaí can hardly be blamed for that.

It is our politicians who make the legal framework within which the Garda Síochána operate. All of the main parties who have had a share of Government over the past generation must accept responsibility for repeatedly backing away from a properly constituted independent framework for investigating allegations of garda misconduct.

We have had the Garda Complaints Board since the late 1980s. But it has never been allowed to evolve and arrogate more power to itself. It has been poorly resourced and starved of both staff and funds. One suspects that it has been mainly thought of as a political alibi and an excuse for supervision of the gardaí.

Mr McDowell has come into office as Justice Minister citing garda reforms as one of his main priorities. When the Progressive Democrat president was first mooted for the job there was some discomfort among Fianna Fail diehards.

They felt it would be wrong to give a such core job to one of the junior partners in government. Others a tad more cynical felt it was all to the good to let Mr McDowell off on his quixotic crusade.

Opinionated, quarrelsome and vain are all adjectives applied to Mr McDowell at various times by supporters and foes alike. But neither his ability nor sincerity are in question and big things are expected of this Justice Minister.

He has made it clear that he intends to strengthen the gardaí’s operational capacity while at the same time making them accountable to an independent inspectorate. Fine Gael and Labour have sounded a note of scepticism about how much real power such a body would have. The Justice Department insists that this inspectorate will be no political alibi.

The real test of its effectiveness will be measured by the reaction of the various garda unions representing rank and file members and their senior officers. If they co-operate with the establishment of the inspectorate and give it a fair wind it will be taken as a sign that they want to ensure that the minority dragging down the Garda Síochána are rooted out. The people deserve and need more than ever an efficient police force whose members themselves obey the law.

The people’s respect for a garda’s uniform is the force’s greatest asset. It is also the best protection for all of us. The sooner Mr McDowell gets cracking on his reforms the better.