Policing Authority wants to hear minority groups' perception of gardaí

Policing diverse and minority communities poses a challenge to every police service, including the gardaí.

The Policing Authority is commissioning research on the experience and perception of An Garda Síochána among members of diverse and minority communities.

The watchdog said research suggests those communities have lower levels of trust in the police and tend to view police negatively and as biased. The authority said the way that minority communities experience policing is a “matter of importance” at home and abroad.

It said policing diverse and minority communities poses a challenge to every police service, including the gardaí. 

“It involves a mixture of complex issues including societal biases, prejudice, language barriers, different cultural practices and beliefs, and historical experiences with law enforcement,” the Policing Authority said.

“These have an impact on the volume and nature of interactions between the police and members of diverse and minority communities (‘under-policing’ or ‘over-policing’ and profiling, including racial profiling), which in turn can affect levels of trust and confidence in the police, perception of police legitimacy and co-operation with officers, to include the initial decision to report hate crimes.” 

The authority said the importance of addressing issues around policing of minorities has been highlighted across the world in the past few years, especially following the controversial police killings of unarmed black people.

It said its research may form a wider piece of work in the future. It is not identifying in advance a particular minority community, ethnic, national, colour or racial group to be included in the research, although it confirmed at least two different groups must form part of the project.

Involving grassroots groups

The watchdog said it would welcome partnerships with grassroots or civil society groups as part of the research.

“The authority acknowledges the time element in developing those connections. Therefore it is offering a longer than usual deadline for submitting applications,” it said.

The final report into these matters must go into detail on a number of topics, such as how the experience of people within these groups fits in line with An Garda Síochána's diversity and integration strategy, and how it fits in line with the force's obligations under Section 42 of the IHREC Act.

In the case of the latter, that act sets out a public body’s obligations to eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and treatment of its staff and the persons to whom it provides services.

Chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Sinéad Gibney. Picture: Paul Sharp

The commissioning of the research comes after the State’s human rights body raised allegations of “racial profiling” by gardaí at cross-border checks after receiving complaints from civil society organisations.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission wrote to the Policing Authority in relation to the matter, the Irish Examiner reported last month.

IHREC chief commissioner Sinéad Gibney wrote: “It relates to the reported operation by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) of selective passport checks on buses that cross the border while undertaking journeys within the Ireland-UK Common Travel Area (CTA).” 

A Garda spokesperson said senior management are considering the letter.

The researchers tasked with conducting the study will need to commence their work by September 1 at the latest. The deadline for applications is April. It expects the research to be finished within a year of the contract being awarded.

During the work, it must provide an interim report on its findings, as well as a final report which may be launched publicly.