IT IS in everyone’s interests to ensure the work of the Garda Ombudsman Commission is conducted as efficiently as possible. Its intended function – to investigate potential acts of criminality and serious breaches of discipline – is being impeded by a large number of trivial complaints.
Proposals to improve this situation have been with the Department of Justice for years. It is time action was taken.
Public support for the commission has grown since it was established five years ago. Those were dark days. The Morris tribunal had reported on criminal behaviour by some members of the Garda in Donegal. Disciplinary procedures were being openly challenged. And the old Garda complaints board warned that citizens were being intimidated into dropping complaints. Since then, legislation and determined disciplinary action have dramatically changed the situation. The Garda Síochána has benefited from it.
There is nothing like public support to make a job worthwhile. In that regard, members of the Garda Síochána are extremely fortunate. But public approval is an ephemeral thing and, as was shown in the past, bad behaviour by a small number of individuals can blight the image of an entire organisation. Because of that, the legislative amendments requested by the outgoing commission – and endorsed by newly appointed members – should be given effect. They are matters of minor administration that should be welcomed by all concerned.
The most common complaints against members of the force involved abuse of authority, discourtesy, neglect of duty and assault. Minor infringements should be dealt with through internal Garda discipline, the commission suggests, or by way of informal resolution procedures. That would allow it to concentrate limited resources on serious allegations. Any complaints of a criminal nature would not revert to the Garda Síochána for investigation.
Considerable progress has been made in reforming Garda disciplinary and oversight procedures in the past five years. But, having made a good start, a degree of complacency may have developed within the Department of Justice. In a report to the Oireachtas last month, members of the outgoing commission complained of the “very slow” progress being made in implementing the procedural changes they had suggested in 2007. Members of the new commission, chaired by Simon O’Brien, have emphasised the importance of these reforms and indicated they will lobby Minister for Justice Alan Shatter on the matter.
The old Garda complaints board was overwhelmed by a backlog of cases. That must not happen again. The Garda Ombudsman Commission was not designed to deal with trivial matters. Its role is to examine all cases where a person dies or suffers harm as a result of the conduct of a member of the Garda; investigate allegations of criminal activity and provide independent oversight of policing. At a time of widespread public cynicism, it requires support.