Policing the police - Transparency is working for everyone
This country’s citizens and its police force should have enjoyed the protection offered by such an institution many, many years ago but, as we have seen with other powerful institutions in recent days, intrusion is seldom welcome if it’s to challenge a prevailing culture, one that traditionally shaped an authoritative, insular organisation.
Without a degree of oversight, and the knowledge that the force is accountable, it would be impossible for it to win the full, co-operative support of the community it exists to police and needs to be effective.
The great changes in the culture of Irish policing have been recognised by the Irish Human Rights Commission which acknowledges that An Garda Síochána has been making positive changes over recent years. All of this is good news and brings credit to all concerned.
The ombudsman found that the most common complaints alleged abuse of authority (26%), neglect of duty (25%), discourtesy (21%) or assault (13%). The commission also noted that the most common factors relating to allegations were searches/investigations (26%), arrest (18%) and road traffic incidents (17%).
The commission was also able to announce a “significant improvement” in how it dealt with its case load.
The number of complaints threatened to overwhelm the organisation in year one, but this was brought under control in 2008, with a reduction of 33% achieved in the number of cases awaiting an admissibility decision. More good news.
It is not so many years since, with the exception of the crimes committed in the name of Irish Republicanism, most guards were as much community workers as upholders of the law and guardians of the peace.
In The Barracks, the great, irreplaceable John McGahern described much of the police work carried out by his father, a policeman, and his colleagues in Cootehall, Co Roscommon around the middle decades of the last century, as “patrols of the imagination.”
Most any member of the force today will tell you that very little contemporary police work is left to the imagination. However, too many residents of the vast sprawling urban estates and some isolated rural areas will complain that the only way they will see a Garda patrol is to imagine it. Reasons other than policing have taken gardaí out of too many communities, very often with unfortunate consequences.
As society changes so to does police work. As violence becomes every more everyday and lethal so too do the challenges facing our police. As authority is undermined by some of those in authority being discredited and seen for what they really are, the work of our police becomes ever more difficult too.
With the notorious exception of the Donegal scandals and a few other regrettable cases, we have a police force we can rely on and take a considerable degree of pride in. It may occasionally be pleasing to criticise them, but the reality is that, as modern police forces go, they are as good as any.
However, the force should come under the remit of the Freedom of Information Act, that great instrument for establishing responsibility and imposing accountability. The hackneyed argument used in so many interrogations over the years — “if you’ve nothing to hide why not tell us?” — applies here too.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
