Gsoc taking three times longer to investigate gardaí

The length of time it is taking Gsoc to conduct criminal investigations into gardaí has more than trebled in the last five years.

The length of time it is taking the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission to conduct criminal investigations into gardaí has more than trebled in the last five years, figures show.

The investigation period for a typical case has jumped from 115 days in 2017 to 366 in 2022, meaning it is now taking a full year to conclude a criminal investigation.

Gsoc said there are “multiple factors” behind the increase, including the volume and complexity of cases and the impact of the Covid pandemic on their investigative processes.

In its five-yearly statutory review, the watchdog also cites the longer-term issue of resourcing.

The report, the third since Gsoc was established in 2017, also records a significant increase in the time to complete disciplinary investigations into gardaí.

Figures on the median (or typical) closure time, measured in days, show:

• Criminal investigations – rising from 115 in 2017 to 162 in 2020, before jumping to 311 in 2021 and to 366 in 2022;
• Garda disciplinary investigations not supervised by GSOC – increasing slightly from 256 in 2017 to 279 in 2019, dropping to 199 in 2021 and rising to 250 in 2022;
• Garda disciplinary investigations supervised by GSOC – rising from 273 in 2017 to 332 in 2019, falling to 288 in 2021, increasing to 336 in 2022;
• GSOC led disciplinary investigations – rising from 203 in 2017 to 290 in 2019, falling to 265 in 2021 and increasing to 320 in 2022.

In relation to criminal investigations, the Gsoc report said: “There are multiple factors behind this increase, including the increase in the volume and complexity of cases and the impact of the pandemic on all aspects of Gsoc’s investigative processes.

“However, another long-term factor has been the question of resourcing.” 

The number of complaints received by Gsoc rose between 2018 and 2021, from 2,944 to 3,760, before dropping to 3,207 in 2022.

In June 2022, the Oireachtas Justice Committee called for a “comprehensive review” to be undertaken to establish why some of Gsoc’s investigations into gardaí were taking many years to complete.

It said this review should be conducted before Gsoc's powers are expanded in a new Office of the Police Ombudsman, which is being established under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, expected to be enacted by the end of the year.

In their foreword, the three commissioners who lead Gsoc, Rory McCabe (chair), Hugh Hume and Emily Logan, said Gsoc has flagged since 2017 the need for it to be given enhanced independence, broader powers, greater efficiency and expansion in resources, staffing and expertise.

It said it made submissions to the Department of Justice on the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, which, it said, proposed sweeping changes to the structure, scope, independence and powers of the new policing ombudsman.

“We have placed a particular emphasis on the importance of ensuring that the reformed institution is given the powers, the institutional independence, the level of timely cooperation, and, crucially, the resourcing, both financial and human, that it needs to be effective," it said.