Policing Authority: Gardaí constrained from meeting targets due to staff shortages

The force's 500 new staff positions allowed for 2021 have already been filled, but in light of Covid complications and surging crime in areas such as financial, cyber, and drug crime, more recruitment may be warranted, the report suggested.

Staff and skill shortages are constraining An Garda Síochána's ability to meet key targets, the Policing Authority has warned.

In the authority’s bi-annual Assessment of Policing Performance report, it calls for more focus on the acquisition and development of specific, specialist skills within the force, in conjunction with bringing in new recruits.

The force's 500 new staff positions allowed for 2021 have already been filled, but in light of Covid complications and surging crime in areas such as financial, cyber, and drug crime, more recruitment may be warranted, the report suggested.

"It would seem that the limit of 500 new staff positions is now posing a risk to the delivery of the Policing Plan and wider change projects," the report notes.

Overall, the report focuses on measuring performance against the commitments made by An Garda Síochána in its Policing Plan 2021.

It finds the force is performing strongly as a whole, with approximately two-thirds of its targets reported as being met at the end of June.

Gardaí continued to be agile in their response to the pandemic this year while maintaining high levels of community engagement, especially with the vulnerable and in minority communities.

Continued high levels of contact with and support of victims and those at risk of domestic violence were also noted.

Operation Faoiseamh has now seen over 35,000 contacts between the gardaí and victims. 

Gardaí are also now calling back 80% of reported victims within seven days of reporting a crime.

A significant increase in the level of detections of those driving under the influence of drugs has been achieved.

“A striking feature of the past year was the growing evidence of driving under the influence of drugs as being an increasingly common feature of contemporary life," Policing Authority chairperson, Bob Collins said. 

"This is a reflection of the increased use of drugs throughout the country, a phenomenon that is no longer, if it ever was, confined to the cities. This is not a problem that can be dealt with by a policing response on its own. Deep societal issues are engaged here."

Another key achievement was the delivery of human rights training to approximately 500 gardaí, including 70% of senior managers, with the University of Limerick.

The resourcing and formal launch of the Garda Anti-Corruption Unit and the underpinning of its functions through the ratification and publication of a number of anti-corruption policies is also noted.

But challenges for the force remain, particularly in performance management, human resources, training, information technology, finance, and estate management.

The longstanding weaknesses in these areas have a very real impact on the policing service that is delivered to the public, the report notes.

The inappropriate cancellation of Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) incidents (also known as 999 calls) is given as an example of force failures.

In December 2020, gardaí discovered that some 999 calls were inappropriately cancelled and made the Policing Authority aware of this.

From January 1, 2019 to October 31, 2020 some 1.4m CAD incidents were recorded. 

Of these, some 202,931 were closed or cancelled. Of these cancelled calls, some 23,361 were Emergency and Priority 1 incidents, which could include domestic violence, sexual assault, missing persons, and health emergencies.

Oversight of this topic is, and will remain, a priority for the authority for the remainder of the year and likely beyond, the report notes.

Commenting on the publication of the report, Policing Authority chief executive, Helen Hall said: "The onset of Covid-19 and the response of the Garda Síochána was agile, considered, and prioritised the protection of the most vulnerable in society. 

"It gave a renewed vigour to the strengths of the Garda Síochána and built on the progress and success achieved in recent years. 

"Areas such as community engagement, victim support and protecting the vulnerable saw extremely high levels of performance during 2020. This has continued in 2021.

"However, the weaknesses that were exacerbated were also, and continue to be, evident-predominantly those relating to performance management, supervision, strategic HR management, financial management and planning, and the provision of training. 

These key enablers are the foundation of good performance and at present they are undermining the ability of the Garda Síochána to provide an efficient, and effective policing service.”