Fifty-five disciplinary files opened by Garda in wake of cancelled 999 calls controversy

Fifty-five disciplinary files have been opened by An Garda Síochána so far in the wake of the controversy over cancelled domestic violence 999 calls.

It emerged last year that an internal Garda investigation found thousands of these calls were “cancelled” meaning some victims, including vulnerable woman and children, had sought help but did not receive it.

The Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sought up-to-date figures and indicative timelines from the force for the completion of disciplinary procedures related to the cancelled calls.

An Garda Síochána told the committee that as of the end of May there were 55 disciplinary files open over the issue in the organisation’s internal affairs section. It said it was not possible at this stage to provide indicative timelines for the completion of these because “this review is ongoing and in certain circumstances Boards of Inquiry and Appeal Boards will need to be established to hear the cases and report on their findings”.

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Garda Commissioner Drew Harris was questioned on the issue by Sinn Féin TD Imelda Munster during an appearance at the PAC in late March and the Garda correspondence was received in response to questions raised then.

Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon told the committee that two gardaí had been suspended at that point and that the disciplinary process was probably about halfway through. Mr Harris said all of the calls were recorded on a computer-aided dispatch system but Garda processes were not being followed in relation to cancelled domestic abuse calls.

There were particular concerns about 5,871 incidents and of those “invalid closure” was found in 2,689 cases where an incident should have been opened on the Garda Pulse system. Mr Harris said gardaí had uncovered what they believed were 134 crimes not recorded.

He said all of the reasons for invalid cancellations have been analysed and there are almost 20 reasons. In 28 per cent of cases – more than 800 calls – the call was cancelled by the caller. In other cases there was either no offence, the case was closed or it was cancelled by the car crew.

“That is where we run into problems because if a caller rings back and says they want to cancel a call, it is our policy that we should still attend, investigate and follow through in completion of a Pulse incident,” he said. “There was a breakdown in terms of practice and behaviour within the control rooms but also among those responding.”

Separately, the Garda letter said that 48 members of the force are before the courts as a result of criminal investigations against them. The letter did not provide detail of the kinds of alleged offences involved.