Michael Clifford: Transform, not reform, to change Garda culture

Outcomes of previous blueprints have never matched the ambition. Major upheaval, both internally and external to the force, will be required, writes Michael Clifford.

How do you transform a culture of policing that has been bedded down for more than 80 years? That’s the task that was facing the Commission on the Future of Policing, which published its report yesterday.

The commission claimed to be about police reform. Its report, a thorough and arresting document, is more about transforming than reforming.

The recommendations, for the most part, make eminent sense.

The report as a whole is replete with management-speak that is de rigueur in the commercial and even sporting worlds today.

There are references to “performance management ownership” and “collective ownership of delivery”, a nod towards a “wellness programme” for members of the force. And let’s face it, a little wellness never goes astray, even in the important and sometimes dangerous work of policing.

A former commissioner was wont to express the view that the force was on “a journey”. Thankfully, there are no journeys in the report, but if this blueprint ever arrives at realisation, it will represent the completion of a major odyssey.

Many of the commission’s recommendations are reheated from previous tribunals and reports from the Garda Inspectorate and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc). But it does go further in ambition and a reach that will require major political will.

One overarching theme of the document is accountability. The commission was set up as a political fob in the wake of public outrage over the apparent treatment of garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe.

His own personal odyssey had exposed many of the negative aspects of Garda culture, but probably none more so than the absence of accountability.

The commission, like the Morris Tribunal report and the Garda Inspectorate before it, recognises the importance of accountability in a local setting. Hence the recommendation of a structure with “a new district policing model at its core”.

In such a structure, the buck would stop with the district officer in a manner completely absent until now.

In this model, “the structure of An Garda Síochána will be flatter with scope for local decision-making, new ideas, and innovation”, according to the report.

The Commissioner, under the plan, would be fully accountable — for his budget, for his senior team, and to a new board.

This model would bring a basic form of governance into the police force and render accountability transparent. The Department of Justice would be removed from the accountability chain, and not before time.

There would also be enhanced accountability through the oversight bodies. Merging the Policing Authority with the Garda Inspectorate makes perfect sense. Rebranding Gsoc doesn’t, but it’s not a big deal.

Crucially, though, the ombudsman body should be allowed to “investigate incidents rather than individuals”.

This, for instance, would have been the appropriate approach in two investigations conducted by Gsoc, into the death of cyclist Shane O’Farrell in Co Monaghan and the investigation into the killing of Sophie Tuscan du Plantier. In both these cases, the outcome was unsatisfactory for a number of parties largely because the investigations were restricted to examining individuals rather than the incidents.

Under the plan, the budget for the ombudsman would require the kind of enhancement that has been repeatedly denied it in recent years.

Another major theme is to direct the force to concentrate on the core activities of policing.

Much of this will be welcomed within An Garda Síochána. In areas like social services, members have often found themselves being regarded as the agency of last resort in family and housing matters.

The most ambitious recommendation in this regard involves the huge deployment of Garda resources to court duty.

“All prosecution decisions should be taken away from the police,” the report recommends. “The practice of police prosecuting cases in court should also cease.”

One can only imagine the man (and woman) hours that this move would free up. One can also only imagine the upheaval involved.

A whole new arm of the state solicitor’s office would probably be required. The cost would also be substantial. While resources on the frontline would be saved, the ladies and gentlemen of the legal business would not be working for the equivalent of a garda’s salary or time.

Of all the ambitious aspects designed to shape a proper, functioning force, this one will probably test the political system’s will the greatest. It would also, in terms of redirecting resources to core activities, and enhancing accountability, yield the greatest return.

There are plenty of other good ideas around areas like gathering intelligence and responsibility for security. Recommendations about education and entry to the force are also to be welcomed.

And there is repeated emphasis on the classification of policing as a “profession”, which involves enhancing pride and ethics, along with responsibilities.

As such, the commission under chair Kathleen O’Toole has done a major service. Yesterday, in answering questions about the report, Ms O’Toole repeatedly spoke about the future in the definitive, as if the implementation of the report in full was only a matter of time.

If the past is anything to go by, however, her optimism may be misplaced. The reheated aspects of the commission’s report required reheating because they have not been implemented. Going back to the slew of Morris Tribunal reports and a succession of good inspectorate blueprints, the outcomes have never matched the ambition.

The future will require enhanced funding and upheaval, both internally and external to the force. It will demand a change of culture and a commissioner who is fully committed.

But the scope of what is set out will, more than anything, require political will and the level of support not provided to reform in this area heretofore.

It will be hard work but it can be done, and now is the time to do it, Ms O’Toole said yesterday. The new commissioner has the cut of a man who looks like he’s up for the job.

To a large extent, it’s now over to the body politic.

The culture that requires changing is not just within An Garda Síochána but also in a political system which habitually hides from hassle today rather than taking it on in the interests of tomorrow.