Proposals to sanction undercover informants to commit crimes will require a detailed policy analysis before they can be approved, the Department of Justice has said.
The recommendation from the Garda Inspectorate, a policing oversight body, would allow Garda sources in criminal organisations to engage in some offending in cases where it may help prevent more serious crime or dismantle the gang.
The inspectorate also recommended that Garda anti-corruption investigators be empowered to engage in sting operations, known as integrity tests, to catch out corrupt public officials.
This may take the form of undercover gardaí offering officials fake bribes to determine whether they are vulnerable to corruption.
In response to both recommendations, the department said they would, if implemented “represent a significant change in current procedure and practice and may require legislative change”.
A spokesman for the department said they would require detailed policy analysis by the department as well as engagement with the Garda and other agencies before a final decision is taken. He said that work would take place over the coming period.
The inspectorate recommended that any system which permits criminal informants to engage in offending be underpinned by “legislation, authority and oversight” to avoid human rights abuses.
“This type of covert activity should be restricted to what is necessary to achieve the required objective,” it said.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has expressed concerns about the proposals, citing the European Convention on Human Rights which restricts the authorisation of crimes such as murder or torture.
The sanctioning of criminal behaviour by law enforcement has led to controversy in the UK, after it emerged undercover officers committed crimes such as arson while infiltrating environmental groups.
The inspectorate’s proposals appear to have support among gardaí working in the policing of drugs and organised crime. One security source said crucial undercover operations have sometimes been severely limited by the requirement that informants not be involved in crime themselves.
Another source said provision should also be made to allow undercover gardaí to also engage in low level crime in certain circumstances. In its report, the inspectorate noted that undercover Garda deployments are currently limited to the purchasing of drugs for testing purposes and covert surveillance, both areas which does not require offending by the officer.
Sources said, historically, undercover informants were often informally be permitted to break the law. However, this was done on a “look the other way” basis, they said, rather than under official sanction by Garda management or the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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