More than 2,000 complaints made against gardaí

OVER 2,000 complaints were made by members of the public to the Garda Ombudsman Commission last year.

One garda was later convicted and another 146 were disciplined following the complaints, according to the commission’s annual report published yesterday.

The Garda Commissioner referred 104 incidents to the Commission (GSOC) which led to two investigations. These were cases where the Commissioner formed the view that the conduct of a garda may have resulted in death or serious injury.

Sixteen of these cases involved fatalities. Six occurred as a result of road traffic incidents, one related to someone in garda custody and eight were following custody or contact with the gardaí

Road traffic incidents, at 51%, were the source of the majority of complaints.

Furthermore, ‘abuse of authority’ accounted for 26% of the allegations while 25% related to neglect of duty, 18% to discourtesy and 15% to non-fatal offences against the person.

The highest number of complaints were made in Dublin’s south city centre.

GSOC chairman Dermot Gallagher said his office wanted to continue to build public confidence in the force while dealing efficiently and effectively with complaints.

“The pattern of complaints in other jurisdictions and in our closest neighbours as in the North Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland was very similar,” he added.

One conviction involved a complaint against Michael Kiernan, a garda in Cork, after he assaulted a student who had knocked off his hat. The 54-year-old had retired from the Gardaí before he pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm in court. The sentencing judge later dismissed the charge, which dated back to February 2007, and applied the Probation of Offenders Act.

GSOC member Conor Brady said the office was seeking a slight amendment to its remit under the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

He said investigators want to put a greater emphasis on informal resolutions and to have the power to pre-investigate minor allegations before an official probe is launched.

On the issue of the Corrib protests, Mr Brady revealed more than 100 investigations have been conducted. The GSOC had requested to be allowed to investigate systemic garda conduct in the dispute rather then individual cases. This was refused by then Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan. A reversal of this decision was called for in a recent Frontline Defenders human rights report into the protests

Mr Brady admitted it was a “pain in the neck” to probe each complaint individually but said the CSOC was no longer seeking to instigate an overall inquiry into gardaí systematic conduct.

Meanwhile, 11 members of the Gardaí were on suspension at the end of last year for disciplinary offences, while 122 members of the force were sanctioned for breaches of discipline last year.