Gardaí are 'frustrated', 'fatigued' and under-trained, report finds

The report says there was a 'clear sense of change fatigue' from all the reform and modernisation projects over the last decade.

Garda members are suffering “frustration” and “change fatigue” and complain of a lack of training and a “complete absence” of proper work evaluation, according to research.

Members also say that there is a need for specialist cyber and fraud units in each of the 21 garda divisions, instead of one cyber hub in each of the four regions.

The findings are contained in a “listening” exercise by the Policing Authority, where researchers met over 70 groups of gardaí and civilian staff across the country and in local and national units.

The report says there was a “clear sense of change fatigue”, from all the reform and modernisation projects over much of the last decade.

It says this feeling was particularly among frontline members and their immediate supervisors.

The report says that “frustration rather than low morale” would best describe the sentiments expressed.

Sick leave

It also finds mid and upper management raised concerns about the capacity of the organisation to respond effectively to health and wellbeing issues.

"This relates to the organisation’s capacity to manage sick leave and absence due to illness, as well as ensuring members and staff receive appropriate supports following significant work incidents or in recognition of the work they routinely undertake,” it said.

“On a more day-to-day basis, the use of sick leave in place of annual leave  — owing to resourcing challenges reducing the capacity to grant leave — has been reported as widespread."

It says that while mandatory online psychological evaluation for certain personnel is welcomed by gardaí, many think it is “formulaic”.

The report says that while it is acknowledged that approaches to mental health are changing for the better, there “remains some organisational stigma” regarding mental illness.

“The primary fear expressed was that a negative evaluation would affect current or future career opportunities — this was a particular concern raised among members at a supervisory rank,” the report says.

Performance management

It says that “across the board” gardaí said there is a “complete absence” of a performance management culture. This included members seeing colleagues “not being pulled up” for poor performance.

There is a “fear” among some supervisors to tackle poor performance in case it results in “accusations of bullying”.

The report says members consistently set out the view that there is a need for specialist, divisional-based capability for cyber and economic crime given the rapid increase in the “scale and complexity” of cases.

Members praise the four regional cyber crime hubs but say these need to be in each of the 21 divisions.

It says the support the national cyber fraud bureaus could give divisions is “constrained by capacity”. It says there are “numerous reports” of large-scale investigations remaining within divisions.

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In parallel with this, is a “huge frustration” of shortages in stations and units, with a view that recruitment into specialist units is “depleting the ‘regular’ to unsustainable levels”.

The report says there is a consistent view that the training programme for new recruits is “not fit-for-purpose” and that the probationers coming out of Templemore College after the initial 11-week training round were “insufficiently prepared” for frontline service.