Garda chief says officers 'walking thin line' when policing anti-immigrant protests
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the right to protest must be balanced by the right not to be intimidated. Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins
Gardaí are "walking a pretty thin line" when policing anti-immigrant protests and are having to balance competing demands, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said.
He expressed "frustration" that his officers are the "only ones" not recording the incidents as they still do not have body cameras, which he said they should have so they can gather evidence.
During a live-streamed session of the Policing Authority, the commissioner stressed that the central strategy of gardaí in dealing with protests is "engagement" with protesters, at least with those who will listen.
He said if gardaí do not have "constructive conversation" and "negotiation" with local people protesting outside or near potential accommodation centres and provide them with information then the vacuum will be filled by the far-right.
Mr Harris said that in addition to the investigation by local police into criminality and intimidation by some protesters, the special detective unit (SDU) is conducting "an ongoing investigation into extremists".
He said the SDU is being supported by the intelligence section in Garda HQ.
The commissioner said that while the far-right are "numerically not strong" in Ireland, they are part of a stronger European network.
Questioned by authority members on public concerns about how gardaí are dealing with anti-immigration protests, Mr Harris rejected any claims of a "softly-softly approach" being adopted.
He said gardaí have to balance conflicting rights: The right to protest and protest peacefully on the one hand; and the right of people not to be intimidated or assaulted and their right to access accommodation on the other hand.
The police chief stressed that where laws are broken gardai will take enforcement action.
Mr Harris said gardai adopt a graduated response, starting with engagement and negotiation and, if deemed necessary, scramble a public order unit, which would be parked nearby. He said arrests often take place after incidents, rather than intervening at the time.
He said he wants to distinguish between those who can be engaged and negotiated with and those who only want to engage in "acts of intimidation and assault".
He pointed out that far-right groups are "always looking for a windfall" of a heavy-handed response by police and said this has been seen in other jurisdictions, where a "far more draconian" response was taken by police.
He added that organised crime groups have also got involved in some protests here as they did not want an enhanced Garda presence in their area.
Assistant commissioner for Dublin Angela Willis said there have been more than 250 protests and counter-protests so far in 2023 in Dublin and that 12 arrests have been made in relation to 10 of those.
Both AC Willis and Commissioner Harris rejected any suggestions that Garda efforts to seek agreement with protesters, either at Santry in Dublin or Inch in Clare, regarding the extent of access to the accommodation was a tacit acceptance of the actions of protesters.
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