Call for protocols before domestic violence victims give phones to gardaí 

Victims of domestic violence could be without their phones “for a couple of years” as a Garda  investigation continues.

There needs to be “clear legal protocols” on the handover of personal phones by domestic abuse victims to gardaí and the provision of independent legal advice to victims beforehand, a group representing refuge services has said.

It follows comments from Garda Commissioner Drew Harris that there is a “significant and growing” reluctance among victims of domestic abuse to hand over their phones for Garda investigations and that this has a knock-on impact on the possibility of prosecutions.