Garda Inspectorate report: Reform delay is damaging police force

It might not be entirely wise to allow the extreme violence and criminality of Love/Hate to influence how An Garda Síochána is managed or reformed but the series did give a glimpse of the extremes, the threat and personal risk, some members of our police force might face. Even if the television drama used poetic licence, it looked into a world most of us are more than happy not to know.

Gardaí do not have that option and they must be given every support in their efforts to confront professional criminals. However, the force and its officers are obliged to ensure that the very best management practices and structures are in place so it can best achieve its objectives. Like all corporations, the force must continually reinvent itself if it is to be efficient, remain relevant, and enjoy the support of society, support essential to its legitimacy.

If Love/Hate might be discounted as fantasy, and even that is doubtful, it may be impossible to ignore the allegations of deep garda misconduct given during the Ian Bailey case against the Garda Commissioner and the State under way in the High Court. It must be emphasised that, at this stage, the allegations are no more than that and the court’s eventual ruling is the only and final arbiter, but if they are vindicated then the force, and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, will indeed face a terrible vista.

The report expected from the Garda Inspectorate today may not be quite a terrible vista but it is anticipated it will be another in a series of unwelcome indictments of the force, its senior management, and, most particularly, the culture that manages crime statistics in a dishonest way to give an inaccurate and flattering picture of garda performance. This culture is also at the root of the penalty points saga, the end of Martin Callinan’s career as commissioner, and the resignation of Alan Shatter as justice minister.

The report was provoked by allegations from serving gardaí that some serious crimes were not investigated properly and were sometimes recorded in a way that did not reflect how serious they were. It has been suggested that the report will make “very difficult” reading for the Government and acting Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan. A number of structural reforms are suggested but it has been obvious for some time that a change in the culture dominating the force is even more important.

In this context, the appointment of the next commissioner is vitally important, and, unless a candidate can show a commitment to, and the steel needed to deliver it, deep cultural reform, then they can hardly be considered suitable. The idea that all Garda officers come up through the ranks seems an anachronism too. Surely it is time that a percentage of all officers be appointed from outside the force, though the Governmnet decision to drop plans to introduce a quota for appointments from outside of the civil service in an open competition for senior management positions next year hardly augers well for that principle. Everyone, including most gardaí, knows that reform is overdue and further delay will further damage an already bruised force.