Crime & Law

Rights groups call for Garda report on racial profiling

New report suggests lack of figures allows An Garda Síochana to claim there is no racial profiling in Ireland

Lack of statistics allows the force to claim that there is no racial profiling in its activities, says new report. Photograph: Alan Betson

Ronan McGreevy
Thu Apr 4 2024 - 09:33

An Garda Síochána should be mandated to produce data relating to how it polices ethnic minority communities in Ireland, a new report recommends.

The report from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) argues that the absence of statistics by An Garda Síochána related to how they treat ethnic minority communities allows the force to claim that there is no racial profiling in its activities.

This claim is at odds, the Policing and Racial Discrimination in Ireland report claims, with research carried out by the ICCL and the INAR along with other organisations working in the field.

Among those who have admitted the existence of possible racial profiling in Ireland is outgoing Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who said last year that it “probably does happen”.

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The National Plan Against Racism, launched last year, recommended the elimination of any type of policing practice that targets specific racial and ethnic communities by the end of next year.

Examples, the report states, include evidence that racial profiling occurs in the use of stop and search powers by gardaí, discriminatory border checks during cross-Border travel between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and evidence that members of the traveller and Roma community are particularly targeted for racial profiling. The unlawful removal of Roma children from their family in 2013 based on ethnic profiling is another high-profile example.

The report states that An Garda Síochána should be “immediately mandated” to produce figures breaking down its activities by race, ethnicity, religion, gender and disability across the entire Irish criminal justice system.

[ Racial profiling by gardaí ‘probably does happen’, Varadkar says ]

The report involved 36 participants from ethnic minority backgrounds living in Ireland, who participated in a number of workshops. Thirty (83 per cent) expressed a fear of being racially profiled or discriminated against by gardaí. 11 participants (31 per cent) specifically mentioned issues around being black and their belief that gardaí assume that black people cannot be Irish. Participants also noted that there is a lack of trust between minority communities and An Garda Síochána.

Asked if they believed gardaí treated members of racialised groups the same as the wider white, settled Irish population, the vast majority (more than 80 per cent in all workshops) felt they received differential treatment.

INAR director Shane O’Curry said the report highlights an “unevenness in the application of good practice, as well as gaps in policy and practice. This leaves a poor impression on communities who often also find themselves marginalised in other ways. We must work to create the conditions where minorities have full confidence in An Garda Síochána. It is in all of our interests”.

ICCL executive director Liam Herrick said it is “imperative” that An Garda Síochána works to improve relations with and experiences and perceptions of minority communities.

An Garda Síochána should improve diversity within the force and also develop its expertise, policies and training on racial profiling to tackle unconscious bias and improve cross-cultural communication and intercultural understanding, he believes.

Among the reports recommendations is that it becomes more diverse to reflect the diversity of people that are in the state at present. It recommends continuing human rights and antiracism training for gardaí at Garda College. The force should also appoint more ethnic liaison offices and the Garda National Diversity Unit should be expanded.

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times

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