Government criticised for 'U-turn' on implementing policing reforms

The commission recommended 'all prosecution decisions should be taken away from the police'.

An Irish constitutional lawyer has strongly criticised the Government for rejecting a policing reform recommendation from an independent commission, based on a review conducted by a group dominated by State departments and agencies.

Dr Alan Greene said the High-Level Review Group (HLRG) was set up by the Government to consider how best to implement the recommendation of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (CoFPI) to remove non-core policing work such as court prosecutions from An Garda Síochána.

In its report in September 2018, the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland recommended: “All prosecution decisions should be taken away from the police.

“The practice of police prosecuting cases in court should also cease.”

It said the role should be handed over to an expanded prosecution service, namely the DPP.

“The involvement of gardaí in prosecutions and the amount of time they spend in court or preparing for court is enormously wasteful of police resources that should be deployed on core police duties,” its report said. 

The review group was set up by the Department of Justice in September 2020 under the chair of former government secretary general Dermot Gallagher. It was comprised of up to 20 members, primarily senior representatives of Government departments, the DPP, gardaí, judiciary, and practitioners, plus one academic and the head of a victims’ support body.

Dr Greene, attached to Birmingham Law School, said the commission made it clear that it understood the difficulties in implementing its recommendation and the resource implications. “This independent group therefore had already acknowledged these factors,” he said.

However, rather than figuring out how best to implement the recommendations, the HLRG has exceeded its mandate by concluding that the CoFPI’s recommendation should not be implemented at all.

He said that, unlike the commission, the review group made “no pretence” as to independence and was “comprised mostly of vested interests”, including gardaí, the DPP, and civil service.

“The State is effectively marking its own homework here and has concocted a highly procedural and costly exercise in an attempt to provide cover for a U-turn on its promise to implement the CoFPI’s recommendation,” Dr Greene said.

He said the commission’s recommendations would free up gardaí to carry out more pressing duties.

Helen McEntee said the Government accepted the group’s findings. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

“At a time when the gardaí and the State are under fire for the lack of a visible presence on the street, it is puzzling to see the State outright reject a proposal that could help alleviate this issue,” Dr Greene said.

The review group report said the commission’s recommendation would be a “radical departure” from the current system. It would be “extremely expensive” and savings would be “much lower” than imagined, it said as gardaí would remain “heavily involved” in the prosecution system.

The review group recommended a “reform model” where gardaí would retain responsibility for prosecution decisions for high volume and minor offending at district courts on behalf of the DPP, with “enhanced” monitoring and training from the DPP. 

Justice Minister Helen McEntee and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government accepted the group’s findings.