Gardaí urge joint effort in sexual abuse cases

A Garda Inspectorate review has said there needs to be a major improvement in co-operation between inter-agencies handling child sexual abuse cases.

The review said effective inter-agency co-operation still appears to be the exception rather than the rule.

“While most jurisdictions acknowledge on-going challenges in breaking down barriers and attempting to harness resources to address child sexual abuse, Irish organisations seem to be particularly embedded in stovepipes,” it said.

“The inspectorate acknowledges some initiatives, but effective collaboration still appears to be the exception, not the rule.”

The Garda authority was asked to review the force’s handling of allegations of child sexual abuse following the publication of the Report of the Commission of Investigation on the Dublin Archdiocese.

It reviewed its findings after the publication of the Cloyne report.

The report stresses child sexual abuse cases cannot be left to the gardaí alone.

“Ireland needs a focused, joined-up approach to this very serious and complicated problem,” it says.

Chief Inspector Kathleen O’Toole said only “a holistic, collaborative approach” to the issue would make the difference that was required.

According to the report, even in places where working relationships between the gardaí and the HSE appear to be at their best, formal processes, such as joint action sheets that are part of the Children First notification system, are not being completed.

“Any reasonable analysis of the qualitative and quantitative evidence of the failures to implement the Children First protocol between the Garda Síochána and the HSE would have to conclude that there is a serious problem requiring urgent action to resolve it,” the report states.

It also says more is needed to be done to promote, develop and support inter-agency working between gardaí and social workers.

The inspectorate was also concerned about the delay in entering child protection records on the Garda computer system — Pulse. It warns that failure to record reports of child sexual abuse on Pulse devalues any data analysis.

The inspectorate discovered that garda recording practice did not match policy. It looked at 67 sample cases and found that almost one in five were entered on the computer system over a month after a complaint was received and over 7% were entered after three months.

It warned that this left gardaí open to allegations that it did not believe complainants.

The report recommends a formal risk assessment for reports of child sexual abuse and says gardaí should seek a search warrant in cases when they have difficulty getting documentation.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said that a response to the recommendations was under way.