Costly victory in battle of the ‘rape tape’

EVERYBODY wants a piece of the “rape tape”. Agendas have been flying around aplenty since the release of the tape last week in which garda officers can be heard joking and laughing about rape.

Elements which are instinctively anti-garda had a field day. Political parties on the left used the occasion to have a cut at the cops. Those who forage at the coalface of gender politics capitalised on the latest example of the power imbalance between the sexes. The media had a right old time of it, mining the story for all it was worth. Anything to get away from the goddamn banks.

Management in the force didn’t cover itself in glory. The contents of the tape are deeply disturbing and the officers concerned should have been suspended immediately pending the outcome of the internal inquiry. Swift action would have demonstrated that the incident was being treated with due seriousness. On Thursday, the officers concerned were transferred to Castlebar and confined to desk duty. By the time that PR door was shut, the horses had long since bolted.