Authority concern at Garda report delay

The Policing Authority said it has expressed its concern on “numerous occasions” at the continuing failure of An Garda Síochána to supply the authority with its review of homicide figures.

The authority confirmed to the Irish Examiner yesterday that it had still not received the promised report.

It said that senior Garda management had indicated that the report should be with the authority before it has its public meeting with Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan towards the end of this month.

The development comes after the CSO said it was postponing publication of crime data for a second time.

The CSO made the decision after Garda bosses said they had continuing concerns about the quality of their homicide data and wanted more time to carry out a deeper examination.

The CSO initially postponed publication — based on concerns around the quality of homicide data — last June in order to allow gardaí to address its concerns.

However, the gardaí recently told the CSO it wanted to “extend their review of homicide data”.

The Policing Authority was first told by Ms O’Sullivan of the concerns around homicide data back in April. This centred around classification issues regarding 41 homicides recorded between 2013 and 2015.

Then, in June, Ms O’Sullivan further told the authority of separate concerns regarding another 89 homicides between 2003 and 2017.

Ms O’Sullivan said an in-depth review was underway, which would also examine whether or not there were any consequences for the investigations concerned.

At the June meeting, authority chair Josephine Feehily noted that they still had not received the promised report into the issues revealed last April.

In a statement at the end of July, the authority said the absence of a timeline for a completed report on homicide data was “increasingly difficult to understand”.

In a further statement to the Irish Examiner yesterday, the authority said: “The Policing Authority has not yet received the Garda report on homicide figures, but understands from senior Garda management that the report will be submitted in advance of the authority’s September meeting.

“The chairperson has expressed on numerous occasions to the Garda Commissioner, both at our last public meeting in June and in private, that the authority is concerned about the delay of this report.”

The public meeting takes place on September 28 at which the commissioner is likely to be also questioned on other issues.