Garda Inspectorate: ‘Time to retire outdated Pulse system’
The head of the body, Chief Inspector Rob Olson, also said the Garda roster system was “not fit for purpose for crime investigation — simple as that”.
The hard-hitting comments put An Garda Síochána further under the spotlight, now under the direction of new commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan.
During a session with the Oireachtas Justice Committee on its 500-page Crime Investigation report, published last November, Mr Olson said they have a further investigation on the entire structure of the force in the pipeline which will make additional findings about Pulse and the roster.
Joined by his deputy inspectors, Mark Toland and Debra Kirby, the inspectorate made further disclosures:
- Garda stations were finding it very difficult to manage the “astronomical” number of people signing on as part of their bail conditions;
- National units suffered a “culture shock” when the inspectorate conducted its investigation as they had never been audited before — but they responded well;
- A single intelligence section should be set up in the force to replace the plethora of intelligence units, often working in silos and sometimes targeting the same person;
- The inspectorate had made “confidential” recommendations to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald on intelligence matters;
- Communities should have access to local crime investigation data — including how many crimes and where they occur.
Mr Olson said the Pulse computer system was “1990s technology”. He said while it was a good repository of information, it was not an “analytical or deployment” system.
“It’s time to retire Pulse,” he told committee members. “You’ve got to keep it running, but they need an entirely new platform.”
He said they would be dealing with this again in the Haddington Road Review — a substantial report on the force’s structure, use of resources and deployment of staff.
The Crime Investigation report said many of its 200 recommendations were dependent on modern technology, with previous estimates putting the necessary cost at around €40m.
Ms Fitzgerald secured €4m for 2014 and 2015 in the last budget for IT projects, including systems upgrade.
Fianna Fáil’s Denis O’Donovan said Pulse was a “foundation stone” of the gardaí and asked how it tracked people on bail, many of whom were committing serious crime.
Deputy inspector Toland, the lead author of the Crime Investigation report, said the number of people on bail signing on at garda stations was “astronomical”.
He said there was “no power of arrest for breach of bail” and gardaí had to attend court and seek a warrant. He said they had called for an Offender Management System for high-risk criminals.
Mr Olson said the current roster was “not fit for purpose for crime investigation — simple as that”.
He said a forthcoming report by a management- staff group was due soon, which would examine their Haddington Road audit.
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