The figures published yesterday in the first report of the Garda Ombudsman Commission are staggering and very disturbing (RTE News, 2nd report).
Nearly 3,000 complaints plus 300 referrals from the Garda Commissioner.
750 investigations into allegations of criminal conduct – mostly of assault.
Nine files sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (Only very serious cases are referred to the DPP).
Clearly, Judge Morris was correct when he said that the Gardai were losing their status as a disciplined force.
It should also be noted that millions are paid out each year by the taxpayer to compensate citizens who have been assaulted or otherwise damaged by Gardai.
The details of the vast bulk of these cases remain a State secret because the Gardai do not come under the remit of the Freedom of Information Act as is the norm in most Western democracies.
Judging by the attitude of the Garda Representative Association’s new president, Michael O’Boyce, the Commission has a lot more work to do. O’Boyce made a scathing attack on the Commission accusing it of blundering incompetence. Commission member Carmel Foley was strong in her response.
“I really wonder if this is all about Gardai being unable to contemplate the fact that another body can walk into a Garda station with a search warrant and conduct a search of the premises. I think they’re going to have to get used to that.”
And what about the thousands of complaints that are deemed to be inadmissible by the Garda Ombudsman Commission ?
Regards, Setanta.
I am currently trying to sort out an episode involving the gardai…. Having moved house in 2005 I was apparently summonsed to court in 2006 on a revenue issue which i believed was resolved. I never received a summons or notification of a fine which obviously was sent to my old address, possibly posted in the letter box and never handed to me directly, which i thought should be the procedure with a summons.Was this down to laziness….. How can a person defend themselves when incidents like this are allowed to happen.I now have to try and resolve an issue which could result in 60 days imprisonment because it went through the system to which i had no prior knowledge of…plenty of laws in this country but is there any justice??
The people of north dublin are all to aware of their “corruption”. They urinated over my teenaged Brother while they had him in custody. So many many vested interests in this so-called republic. I tolerate them. I do not respect them. Do the words “collective responsibility” mean anything to them? goodnight. Denis.