Mental illness features in GSOC cases

Situations involving mental illness feature strongly in cases involving death or serious injury investigated by the Garda Ombudsman, the watchdog’s annual report shows.

Under the law, cases where someone died or was seriously injured in situations where garda behaviour may have been a factor are automatically referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.

There were 52 referrals during 2015, with 15 related to fatalities. The GSOC 2015 annual report, details in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, documents four cases in some detail.