Who will guard the guards?

What is going on in the Gardai? Allegations of misconduct have been widespread in recent months, ranging from intimidation, beatings and torture of suspects to that old Irish standby: members of the force drinking while on duty.

A recent RTE Prime Time show received the highest ratings in some time for the series. It detailed an unedifying list of Garda assaults on the public, portraying a force which seems unable or unwilling to investigate allegations of assault by its own members. Worst of all, perhaps, it showed the vulnerability of those who have been assaulted by the Gardai. Some have faced the counter-threats of assault charges brought by the Gardai involved while it’s believed that many others who get “on the wrong side of the law”.decline to make a complaint on the grounds that it will only make their lives even more complicated.
The programme also heard claims by former Circuit Court Judge Anthony Murphy that he was aware of instances of Gardai committing perjury. The Judge said that in the absence of any evidence other than a confession he was inclined to let the accused walk free. More damning still, Minister of State Dick Roche described alleged Garda ill treatment of a young Co Wicklow man as amounting to torture.
This is not the first time in recent years that the spotlight has been turned on Gardai tactics. In 2002 TV3 viewers were treated to footage from the May Day protest in which hundreds of protesters turned out to ‘reclaim the streets’. In images which shocked the country, Gardai were captured on camera laying into protesters with batons and fists. In one piece of footage, protesters had their backs against a wall, as Gardai beat them to the ground. They literally had nowhere else to run. Cameras were punched in and batteries and tapes removed, according to witnesses.
Many protesters were minors; many had to report to hospital with their injuries. And many more turned up at Pearse St Garda station to make official reports. However they were told that no reports could be made as a Sergeant was not available, resulting in queues outside the station of protesters and members of the public. Some left and didn’t return, believing, perhaps understandably, that their report would not be treated seriously.
But a lack of faith in the Gardai is not confined to street protesters. A recent Irish Times poll revealed that only 58 per cent of the population have confidence in the force. This figure falls to 40 per cent among young people throughout the State, and to 46 per cent of all age groups in Dublin. In response, the Minister For Justice has acted by setting up an Ombudsman Commission with a staff of 70 and a budget of E7 million. Although it has already been criticised for not going far enough, the Ombudsman Commission will have strong powers, including the ability to search Garda stations and refer files directly to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
All of this is well and good, but to directly affect Garda activity, prosecutions will have to be made, all of which will take time. In the meantime, and worryingly, there have been fresh reports of Garda brutality. In one case, three men recounted being savagely beaten in a Dublin street, then being kicked while handcuffed in the back of a Garda van en route to the station. When one of them regained consciousness and tried to make a report at the station he claims he was punched in the mouth and told not to bleed on the desk.
The crime these men were supposed to have perpetuated? Making an obscene gesture to a female Garda. This done apparently through a window while having drink in a local pub, the manager of which, by the way, says he noticed nothing of the kind from what he considered a well-behaved trio.
The job of the police clearly lends itself to considerable stress on an everyday basis. For that reason, it’s widely accepted that Gardai need to be educated and trained in dealing with such pressures, on an ongoing basis. Any existing training modules, critics argue, are clearly not up to scratch.
As to whether the establishment of a Garda Ombudsman serves to bolster pulbic confidence in the force, only time will tell.