Public fear naming in Garda complaints

Efforts by gardaí to discover the identity of people who had made inadmissible complaints about them is leading to reluctance among the public to come forward, the Garda Ombudsman warned today.

A survey on behalf of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Committee (GSOC)  revealed one in 20 members of the public has had a reason to complain about a garda

Seven in ten people said they would complain about a garda if they felt their complaint was justified.

However, half of all people who felt they had a reason to complain in the past had failed to do so.

GSOC chairman Mr Justice Kevin Haugh said the reluctance to complain was often due to a belief it "might make matters worse". 

Under current legislation, where a complaint is deemed to be admissible, the subject of the allegation is entitled to know where it originated for the purposes of mounting a defence. Mr Justice Haugh said in these cases, gardai were within their rights to seek a complainant's identity.

However, he said he could see no reason why gardaí should be entitled to know who made complaints about them if those complaints were ruled to be inadmissible. 

"Those people will be further deterred … if when they make a complaint that turns out to be inadmissible, where no action is taken … that they should then be exposed to what they see as fear of some kind of reaction or retribution," he said.

Complaints found to be inadmissible were usually about people who are not members of An Garda Síochána; complaints made out of time; complaints in relation to conduct that, if proved, would not constitute a breach of the law and complaints from people who were obviously mentally ill.

The GSOC chairman also said his office had some 750 open files under investigation. "That is way beyond capacity for the investigators that we have on our staff," he said.

As a result, the ombudsman was  seeking amendments to legislation to give it discretion over what constitutes an appropriate and proportional investigation and for gardaí to be able to investigate less serious allegations under GSOC supervision.

“It is important that the Garda Síochána remains responsible for maintaining discipline in its ranks,” he said.

"Therefore we consider it appropriate that certain matters be investigated by them under our oversight, in line with international practice," he added. "We retain supervisory and review powers including the power to take over an investigation when we believe that we should in the interests of all concerned."

This would allow the GSOC to concentrate its resources "where they are most appropriate", he said.