Morris reports - GardaÍ need independent authority

Finally, Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy has spoken publicly about the recent Morris reports into alleged garda corruption in Donegal, in which the tribunal declared itself “staggered” by the level of indiscipline and insubordination it found in the force.

It was reassuring that he believed himself to be in a position to state that problems outlined by the tribunal in relation to garda management had been addressed.

The public, however, remains to be convinced.

It will entail more than a belated statement by the commissioner to restore the confidence of the general public in the force as a whole. The integrity of the gardaí was dangerously undermined by the revelations of the Morris reports, and what is essential is a root and branch purge of the organisation which will restore public trust in the country’s police force.

Ultimately, it is the public that judges the gardaí, as the commissioner acknowledged, and they are entitled to reside trust in the guardians of the peace, rather than be suspicious of them.

What Mr Justice Frederick Morris exposed was that the shameful behaviour was not just confined to Donegal, but amounted to a countrywide problem.

Currently, the disciplinary system within the gardaí is totally inadequate to deal with breaches of discipline, certainly on the scale revealed by Morris. Nobody has suffered formal consequences, which compounds the unease felt by the public.

There is nothing in place, internally, to deal with such matters, apart from a transfer out of the area, suspension or a convoluted and ineffectual disciplinary regime.

The commissioner has resorted to taking legal action in the case of Detective John White who was indicted by the tribunal but previously exonerated by a criminal court on the charge of planting a shotgun in a Travellers’ camp in Donegal.

His sympathy for the McBrearty family and other innocent people affected by that series of events, will not remove the trauma and hurt caused to them by rogue members of the force.

It was only to be expected that the commissioner would express the hurt he felt at the findings, and that of decent gardaí, but such an expression, while understandable, will not resolve what is at issue — namely the credibility of the force.

As the commissioner said, the work of the tribunal will, in the long term, improve it.

It will have to, because what came out of it was very disturbing.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell accepts there is need for reform in the gardaí, that abuse and fabrication of evidence like that uncovered is totally unacceptable, as do the leaders of the opposition parties.

More importantly, members of the public demand that it happen and that it happen in a totally transparent fashion.

More than 30 years ago the idea of a police authority was suggested by the Conroy Commission, but it was never pursued.

Maybe it is time to re-visit such a proposal because such an independent authority would be removed from both the gardaí and the Government.