Garda staff taking 999 calls dealing with verbal abuse and sexually explicit comments, report finds

Report also found staff wanted more training to deal with challenging calls, including calls from people contemplating suicide.

Garda staff taking 999 calls are dealing with increasing levels of verbal abuse, including threatening or sexually explicit calls, as well as higher numbers of nuisance and vexatious calls, according to a new report.

A review, conducted for the Policing Authority, said one “innovative” approach taken by gardaí to deal with a nuisance caller was to prosecute under cybercrime legislation on the basis the sheer number of calls amounted to a “denial of service” that adversely impacted emergency services.

The report also found staff wanted more training to deal with challenging calls, including calls from people contemplating suicide.

The findings are contained in a Policing Authority report, which examined the extent to which An Garda Síochána had implemented recommendations in a September 2022 report on the cancellation of 999 calls.

The updated report, like the previous reports, was carried out by Derek Penman, former chief inspector of Scottish police, and involved visits to the four regional control centres in Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Dublin.

The review team also visited local stations in Mayfield, Oranmore, Co Galway, Kilkenny, and Crumlin, Dublin.

In addition to interviews with staff on the main issues under investigation, staff also commented on the “increasing level of verbal abuse” from members of the public phoning into the regional control centres.

“Control room staff and members accept they are often dealing with vulnerable callers at a time of crisis and generally have a high level of acceptance and tolerance for abusive calls,” the report said.

“However, these calls can have a negative impact on staff over time and there is a level of abuse from callers that should not be tolerated by An Garda Síochána, particularly where calls contain threatening or sexual comments directed to the call taker.” 

The report also said staff “from all RCCs” identified the need for additional training in dealing with challenging calls, such as calls from those contemplating suicide.

It said Garda members and staff across each of the regional control centres focus groups identified some specific challenges around the volume of nuisance and vexatious calls that “frequently tied up valuable call-handling resources”.

It said a system requirement to go through the new procedure for every call meant it now took longer to deal with these calls.

“These delays impact on call waiting times for genuine callers,” the report said.

The report said there had been multi-agency interventions to tackle repeat and nuisance callers within communities, particularly where callers were experiencing mental health issues.

“There has also been action to identify and prosecute individuals who are deliberately wasting Garda time,” the report said.

“One innovative example was using cybercrime legislation to deal with a nuisance caller on the basis that the sheer volume of calls amounted to a denial of service that adversely impacted on the availability of the emergency services.”