Gsoc receives 3,000 allegations about gardaí

The most common circumstances which gave rise to complaints were enforcement of travel restrictions and interactions with gardaí at checkpoints

More than 3,000 allegations were made to the body overseeing An Garda Síochána last year, resulting in the opening of 572 criminal investigations.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) said it recorded an increase in the number of complaints in 2020, and that interactions with garda members relating to Covid-19 restrictions and enforcements formed part of the reason.

There were 1,955 complaints in 2020 compared with 1,756 in 2019, Gsoc said. The most common circumstances were road policing incidents, the conduct of investigations by gardaí, customer service by gardaí, and conduct of gardaí when searching property and people.

In its annual report, Gsoc said it received 43 referrals from the Garda Commissioner under section 102 (1) of the Garda Síochána Act, which arise where the conduct of a member may have resulted in death or serious harm to a person.

Of the 1,955 complaints received by Gsoc last year, there were a total of 3,089 allegations contained within.

Some 27 files were referred to the DPP, resulting in 71 directions for prosecution, 14 directions for no prosecution, with seven decisions pending.

There were 26 public-interest investigations opened in 2020, which are probes done in the absence of a complaint or referral by the Garda Commissioner.

Some 19 protected disclosures were made to Gsoc by garda members and employees, while 77 sanctions were imposed by the Commissioner on individual gardaí following complaints to Gsoc.

Between March and the end of December, 295 complaints to Gsoc mentioned Covid-19, the report said.

The most common circumstances which gave rise to these complaints were enforcement of travel restrictions and interactions with gardaí at checkpoints, discourtesy, concerns about social distancing, and lack of PPE equipment were the main causes of complaint," it said.

"Sixty-eight were found to be inadmissible, 50 were admitted for investigation, 24 were still open at the end of the year, and the majority of the remainder did not proceed past the ‘query’ stage, that is, complainants failed to provide sufficient detail to allow the complaint be considered for admissibility."

Incidents highlighted in the report include a referral to Gsoc following a fatal road traffic collision involving an off-duty garda. The DPP directed a prosecution following a Gsoc criminal investigation. A two-year suspended sentence imposed by the judge was appealed by the DPP. The Court of Appeal quashed the sentence and imposed a term of imprisonment, according to the report.

It said a public-interest investigation was initiated following media reports that a security breach had occurred at Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of the President. A file was sent to the Garda Commissioner and the garda was found to have breached the discipline regulations.

Gsoc said a garda was ordered by a court to complete an anger-management course and to write a letter of apology to a young man following an allegation of assault, which was referred by a Chief Superintendent.

A criminal investigation was initiated by Gsoc investigators following receipt of a complaint alleging the unauthorised sharing of personal information by a garda. A file was sent to the DPP, who directed a prosecution. A guilty plea was accepted by the court on full facts, the report said.