Murder acquittal - Every garda station needs video facility

IF ever there was a compelling argument for accelerating the installation of video facilities at garda stations to record interviews with suspects in cases of serious crime, it was yesterday’s acquittal of two men of the alleged murder of a civil servant.

The facts are disturbing. According to Mr Justice Liam McKechnie, certain alleged statements and written memoranda of garda interviews with the two men, while detained at Blanchardstown and Finglas stations, should be excluded from evidence.

On his direction, the jury at the Central Criminal Court found the men not guilty of murdering Brian Fitzpatrick, who was punched and kicked to death near his home in Finglas in December 1998. Allegedly, he refused to give cigarettes to the defendants, Michael Geoghegan and Richard Bourke, both of Finglas. They were 15 at the time and denied the charge.

What is patently clear from the handling of this case is that if garda interviews with the suspects had been recorded, both the statements attributed to them and the circumstances in which they were made would have been captured on video.

Because no video evidence existed, however, incriminating statements alleged to have been made by the two men were challenged, forcing the judge to give a not guilty direction.

Grave implications for the conduct of criminal justice in the future flow from this case. Coupled with the recent collapse of a Limerick murder charge after six State witnesses developed collective amnesia, it poses serious difficulties for the judiciary and the gardaí.

The outcome goes to the heart of the long-running campaign to have video recording facilities installed at all garda stations. A quarter of a century has passed since Judge Barra O’Brian first emphasised the need for this initiative.

Four years ago, the Coalition earmarked €9 million for the purpose and so far just 220 of the country’s 700 stations have been equipped.

This figure falls far short of the call, reiterated by the Labour Party yesterday, for all stations to have a video facility.

At the very least, there in an unanswerable case for installing such equipment at all major stations.

What remains unclear is how many machines have been installed at each station. This is a crucial question. Because several interviews could be conducted simultaneously at one station, it is obvious that if recording facilities were limited, some would go unrecorded.

While the majority of gardaí are above reproach, any recording lapse could put an investigation in doubt.

The outcome of the Fitzpatrick murder trial brings a renewed sense of urgency to demands for video equipment at every garda station where statements are taken from persons in custody. Nor is this the first case in recent times on which the outcome depended on statements taken in controversial circumstances in garda stations.

As emphasised by Labour justice spokesman Joe Costello, the best way to avoid statements being disputed is to ensure they are videotaped. While it may not prevent a person’s rights being abused in custody, it would rule out unfounded claims of ill-treatment being levelled against interviewing gardaí.