Inspectorate to review Garda handling of domestic abuse reports

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. The Garda Inspectorate is to review the way gardaí handle domestic abuse reports. Picture: RollingNews.ie

The Garda Inspectorate is to review the way gardaí handle domestic abuse reports.

While the terms of reference of that review have not been finalised, the Irish Examiner understands it is expected to look at the way the force handles allegations against its own serving members.

Among other things, the review will check all domestic violence calls are properly supervised from the receipt of the call to the recording of the crime or incident.

It will also inspect whether all domestic violence crimes and incidents of domestic dispute are recorded on Pulse, irrespective of the willingness of a victim to make a statement of complaint.

A spokesperson said: “The inspectorate intends to conduct an inspection of the Garda Síochána response to reports of domestic abuse.

“It is expected to commence in the third quarter of this year.

“The exact terms of reference for the inspection have yet to be decided.

The inspection will examine and investigate how the Garda Síochána manage and investigate the reporting of an incident of domestic abuse.

Mary-Louise Lynch, founder of the domestic abuse survivors network SISI, thinks the fact that 12 serving members are subject to barring orders is “the thin end and bare tip of a much bigger wedge”.

She added: “I don’t think domestic abuse among serving gardaí is more widespread than they are prepared to admit.

“But I do think it is more widespread than they have the capacity to cope with.”

Of the lack of requirements on gardaí dealing with a report of domestic abuse, she said: “The gardaí should be checking to see if the alleged perpetrator of the abuse is a serving guard.

“This is just like they should be seeing if the person being complained about is working with children or vulnerable adults.

“If somebody is into coercive control, there are all manner of ways to continue to exert control and who they are and what they do with their time is very important.”

The Garda Inspectorate review will be a timely one, given the ongoing probe into the downgrading or cancellation of data recorded on Pulse after gardaí responded to 999 calls.

It was discovered last year that data created on the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and communications system after a 999 call was not being transferred to gardaí’s internal Pulse records system.

The review into the situation has since discovered more than 3,000 of 999 calls related to domestic violence.

While 35% were legitimately downgraded due to the number of 999 calls made about the same incident, there is a question mark over the rest.

This is because while gardaí may have gone to the home of the caller, what details were recorded on the CAD system during and immediately after that 999 callout were transferred to the Pulse system is at issue.

In a number of cases, the information does not appear to have been transferred at all.

As a result, there were fewer flags on the Pulse system that certain people were at risk of domestic violence.

Survivors' advocates believe gardaí should automatically record whether domestic violence or abuse-related allegation has been made against a serving officer.