Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1986 > Select Committee on Criminal Lawlessness and Vandalism > Report No. 14 - Objectives of the Garda Siochána

Membership of the Committee

Dail Deputies

Clerk to the Committee: F.J. Brady

1. Introduction

1.1The Gardai have a unique and fundamental role in Irish society; they are given very wide ranging powers, both by statute law and by common law. They have very wide discretion in how they exercise those powers. Generally, it is for an individual member of the Force to decide in any given circumstances whether he is going to invoke the full force of the law to deal with a particular infringement of the law. When powers are given to Gardai, they are not set out in priority order; yet if a member misuses his discretion he can find himself subject to disciplinary action. At the same time, there is no commitment to providing a wide range of professional skills which the Garda Siochana needs if it is to perform effectively. Moreover, in a society which is becoming increasingly conscious of its rights, there is a need to provide the Garda Siochana with the best possible raw material so as to achieve the objectives of the Force, to exercise discretion in a reasonable and fair manner and to safeguard against the infringement of the rights of the public.

1.2 A fundamental requirement for obtaining the best possible raw material - manpower - is the introduction of regular recruitment campaigns which have as their objective the recruitment of personnel who are suitable for the duties arising out of membership of the Force. While it is not proposed to pursue this matter in detail here, it is clear that stress is a major factor in police work. In this regard it is interesting to note the comments of Colin Smith, Thames Valley’s Chief Constable: “The burden now carried by my officers is so great that the incidence of stress-related illness and general pressure is so high that their performance is suffering”. It is essential that any recruitment process, if it is to be effective in selecting suitable candidates, must take into account the ability of applicants to cope with stress. This can be done by using psychological tests as part of the entry requirements, or alternatively, or perhaps combined with, ongoing psychological assessment during a recruit’s training period. Such a requirement is urgently needed and should be introduced for the next recruitment campaign. It will be too late, and indeed totally inappropriate, to complain and to criticise individual members of the Force who, as a result of being unsuitable, create problems for the public or the Force in, say, five, ten or twenty years time. The time to try to prevent future problems is now, by ensuring that suitable applicants are selected as part of a regular and planned programme of recruiting Gardai.

1.3During its examination of the recruitment and training needs of the Garda Siochana, the Select Committee became convinced of the need for a fundamental review of the objectives and functions of the Garda Siochana and the structures for implementing those objectives.

1.4This is the first major review of the Garda Siochana since the foundation of the State. Various official reports have dealt with various aspects of the Force and some detailed, though confidential, studies have been carried out in certain areas. However, in a democratic society, where policing is based on a concept that the populace as a whole gives its consent to being policed, there is a need for a public discussion and review of the activities of the Garda Siochana. The Select Committee considers that it is very appropriate for it to undertake this re-appraisal of the role of the Garda Siochana. There is a need to adapt to the changes which have taken place in Irish society since the Force was established in the 1920s, and to outline the direction the Force should take to prepare it for the 21st century.

1.5The Garda Siochana has grown in strength over the years and now has an overall strength of 11,400 and an annual budget of £255 million. The vast bulk of this budget (91%) is spent on pay and pensions for members. Great attention is given to any proposals for non-pay expenditure - as it should be-but the same critical analysis does not appear to have been given to the question of whether value for money is received from the investment that taxpayers make in Garda manpower.

1.6 The purpose of this examination is to review the existing operation/organisation of the Force with a view to highlighting the deficiencies in the present organisation and making recommendations which will result in a more effective and responsive police service.

1.7The Committee has decided to approach this particular examination by dividing the subject into a number of constituent parts. This first Report on this subject, which outlines the Objectives of the Garda Siochana and the priorities to be afforded such objectives, sets the scene and the parameters for further reports. Subsequent reports will deal with the role of Gardai in prosecuting offences; the concept of accountability and structures for achieving it; measures for assessing police performance; professional skills; and the structures for achieving the Force’s objectives.

2. Summary of Recommendations

2.1The Select Committee has reviewed the role of policing in Irish society and considers that there is a need for a clear and concise statement of objectives for the Garda Siochana.

Objectives

2.2The Select Committee recommends that the objectives of the Garda Siochana, in order of priority, should be:

These objectives cannot be taken in isolation. For example, the prevention of crime necessarily involves the protection of life and property in the event of danger from criminal situations. [These issues are discussed in greater detail in section 4.3].

Priorities

2.3The establishment of the appropriate ordering of priorities is a major challenge facing the Garda Siochana. The Committee considers that the priority to be afforded each objective should be as set out below.

Consequences

2.4Making crime prevention the first priority for the Garda Siochana will have major implications for the Force and will necessitate a change in emphasis in the approach of the Garda Siochana to the service which it provides.

2.5The Select Committee recommends that, as part of this process of changing the priority of the Garda Siochana, the following measures be implemented:-

(i)Crime Prevention Committees should be established at national and local level to increase police/community contact in tackling crime. There is a clear need for a much greater emphasis on community policing; neighbourhood watch schemes are only the start of such a process.

The traditional role of the Garda as a person to whom people can turn to seek help and assistance needs to be emphasised and maintained.

(ii)The management role within the Force should receive greater consideration, and the filling of senior positions, whether from inside or outside the Force, should reflect a more management orientated approach. It follows, of course, that the training of the Garda Siochana - both new recruits and existing officers - merits a higher level of commitment than it receives at present.

(iii)Non-police duties should, in so far as possible, be taken from the Garda Siochana and given to other more appropriate agencies. For example, unemployment assistance work, at present carried out in some stations, is more appropriate to the Department of Social Welfare.

(iv)The process of civilianisation of clerical and administrative posts within the Garda Siochana should be proceeded with and should be extended to include senior administrative positions.

(v)Research needs to be undertaken to examine and monitor the activities of the Garda Siochana. This function should appropriately be located at the Garda Siochana College and could involve close liaison with other third level institutions and the E.S.R.I.

(vi)Victim support should receive greater attention from the Garda Siochana. The concept of public tranquility means that more thought and concern needs to be given to the victims of crime.

Purpose of Report

2.6The aim of this Report is to provide a clear and concise statement of the objectives of the Garda Siochana and to indicate the priority of these objectives. The Report also makes recommendations that follow from changing the emphasis of the Force towards crime prevention.

Future Reports

2.7Following these objectives will require further changes in the organisation of the Force. The Committee will now proceed to consider other aspects of these consequences including

While there is some overlap between each of these topics, the Committee considers that it is more useful to produce separate reports on each area rather than one composite report.

3. The context of policing

3.1The task of policing modern society is complex and demanding; it is also becoming more difficult and contentious. These difficulties apply as much to the Garda Siochana as they do to other police forces in Western Europe.

3.2 Policing takes place within society and is not an abstract concept enforced for its own sake. Sometimes it appears that this fundamental basis for policing is forgotten. The role of the police in contemporary society is a subject of public debate in most European countries. This discussion centres on the ability of the police to respond to changes in society and their effectiveness within society. The Garda Siochana occupies a pivotal role in society and any statements about its objectives, priorities or organisation, is a matter for public concern. At the same time there is great uncertainty as to what the objectives of the police are, or what the 11,400 members are doing.

3.3There is, of course, another way of looking at the police, this time from the point of view of the police, namely, do the Garda Siochana get the public they deserve? It is one thing to look at the breakdown of law and order in certain parts of society. It is something else to look and see how “law-abiding” citizens contribute to crime. It is essential to draw a distinction between serious and non-serious crime. One basis for such a distinction is to include all offences against the person in the former category. The latter category would include all other offences. On this basis, serious crime is not a major problem in Ireland. It is when all the non-serious crime takes place, and police resources are dissapated on minor, and, in some cases trivial matters, that the problem of serious criminal activity increases.

3.4 The fundamental objectives of the Garda Siochana, as proposed in this Report, have to be reached by methods which are fitted to the society which is being policed. It is essential to realise that the police must be sensitive and close to the communities which they are policing. This factor seems to be appreciated more and more in Britain, but is only slowly being considered here; and the priority devoted to it is unclear. James Anderton, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, wrote in his annual report: “The figure for long-term unemployment among the crime-prone younger-age groups in the worst affected parts of the conurbation ranges from 50 per cent to a staggering 80% or more. Policing certainly has to be wise, caring and sensible in those distinctive localities where almost the entire population is out of work and living on social security”. The reports of other chief constables echo these sentiments.

3.5It should be borne in mind by people who criticise the police that a lot of crime is opportunistic and that, in some cases, the victim contributed to the opportunity for crime. A clear example of this arises in the case of thefts from unattended vehicles. Despite major publicity being given to the unauthorised taking of cars, many thousands of car owners leave valuables unattended and in open view in their cars. In 1985, the number of such crimes reported to the Garda Siochana was 15,049. In the same year 4,327 cars were taken without authority. How many of these were fitted with any type of security device? There is however a serious lack of information on the effectiveness of crime prevention measures which should be considered by the proposed Garda Siochana Foundation.

4. Objectives of Policing

Earlier statements of objectives

4.1The 1970 Conroy Commission noted that “the primary function of a policeman is to maintain law and order and to protect the persons and property of the general public”. These functions are a version of the more widely accepted traditional objectives of policing which may be stated as:

4.2Such a statement raises the issue as to the extent to which policing objectives should be specified or left as general statements. General objectives give scope for interpretation and independence whereas specific objectives limit and direct. A limited development towards objectives which highlighted specific areas of concern and indicated specific operational priorities was put forward by Bradley (1986) as:

4.3A more detailed expression of policing objectives, reflecting a rather different emphasis, can be derived from those developed by the American Bar Association (1977) as amended by the Garda Representative Association (Submission to the Garda Training Committee, 1985). They are as follows:

4.4 The Select Committee favours a general statement of objectives rather than too detailed an expression. However, the role of the Garda Siochana in society is too important for it to be left to the Garda Siochana alone to interpret specific functions from very general statements; it is the interpretation of objectives into activities that determines the police service we receive. The controls needed on the Garda interpretation of objectives will be considered in the Committee’s Reports on Accountability and police structures.

4.5The Committee considers that the objectives of policing in Ireland should be:

(recognising of course that these objectives cannot be taken in isolation from each other, e.g. the prevention of crime necessarily involves the protection of life and property).

The Prevention of Crime

4.6Crime prevention is concerned with reducing the opportunities for crime by:-

4.7 In police operational terms, it involves taking the initiative and becoming involved in the community, rather than merely responding to events. As the police are not the only social agency with a role in this regard, it follows that it also means working with the various social agencies and local and state bodies. Both formal and informal mechanisms need to be established to consult with the community. This will involve a radical change in the way the Garda Siochana work, with the emphasis changing from potential offenders to the potential victims and their environment.

Crime Detection

4.8 It is unlikely that crime prevention can ever be wholly successful; accordingly, detection of crime committed will always remain an important element in police work. In terms of priority, however, it should be of less operational significance than the prevention of crime.

4.9 In the detection of crime and the apprehension of criminals, it is vital that the behaviour of the Garda Siochana be acceptable and controlled. The essential quality of police work is the capacity to make use of non-negotiable force, for example, the powers conferred on the Garda Siochana to arrest, search and detain. The public is placed at risk in any police operation; this must be an issue foremost in police management regardless of the guilt or innocence of the individual members of the public who might be involved. Public safety and security lies in a well educated, well trained professional force operating to an accepted, explicit code of Professional Principles.

The Protection of Life and Property

4.10This objective clearly cannot be taken in isolation; it can impinge on the prevention of crime, where there is a danger of injury to life or property. However, the Garda Siochana also have a duty to offer assistance to persons in danger of personal injury in an array of non-criminal contexts, for example, accidents and disasters. The Garda Siochana, along with other social agencies such as the fire service, ambulance service and social work agencies have a role to play in the alleviation of immediate distress.

The Preservation of Public Tranquility

4.11This is an alternative expression of the normal one, namely, the preservation of Public Peace and Good Order. It is considered to express the essence of this objective more clearly. It clearly has a great deal in common with the objectives discussed above, and indeed might be thought to be the fundamental principle from which police work is developed.

4.12 The preservation of tranquility, as opposed to order, emphasises the desirable quality of conflict resolution that should characterise effective police intervention. It implies a more active role in the confrontation with, and resolution of, problems. It also implies that such intervention will be aimed at the preservation of the general public good, and not merely the enforcement of the law. Again, this clearly presupposes and requires a well educated, well trained and sensitively led force.

The balance of Priorities

4.13 “If the police are to secure the assent of the community they must strike an acceptable balance between the three elements of their function....if law enforcement puts at risk tranquility, the policeman will have to make a difficult decision for there will be situations in which the public interest requires him to test the wisdom of law enforcement by its likely effect on public order”. (Scarman, 1981). The complexity of the work of the Garda Siochana, however, makes the expression of detailed guidance on priorities almost impossible outside of the context of the particular operational setting. The essence of police work is the need to make complex decisions with limited information in demanding operational settings; the source of the more important decisions often lying with the man on the ground (the Garda) rather than the police supervisor.

4.14This clearly indicates the need for well educated, well trained professionals at the lowest organisation levels. The Committee considers that this need is frequently overlooked when recruiting Gardai. It was for this reason that the Committee made major recommendations for changes in the recruitment and training of Gardai. There is also a need for an administrative, management and organisational structure, capable of providing an effective and accepted police service in widely differing social situations. The Committee considers that it is vital that the present administrative framework, organisational structures, policy and operational planning mechanisms and capacity, training and selection procedures, of the Garda Siochana, be reviewed.

5. The Nature of Policing

5.1Systematic research into policing in Western societies has revealed a number of important features of the nature of police work; there are no reasons to suppose that they do not apply equally here. There is, however, no detailed or independent analysis of the activities of the Garda Siochana in this regard. In particular, three points have emerged from other research which indicates:-

Objectives - heterogeneous

5.2Police objectives and, therefore, police work, however expressed, are essentially heterogeneous. The notion of crime, for example, covers an enormous range of different behaviour; the range of possible incidents covered by ‘befriending’ and ‘emergencies’ is vast, and the approaches to ‘crime prevention’ which might be adopted are considerable. The Committee considers that, in order to undertake such activities in a sensitive and effective way, the police need thorough training, effective organisational structures, and a highly competent and flexible management team.

Objectives - ambiguous

5.3Police objectives are also essentially ambiguous. Each particular objective, however expressed, is capable of being approached in a variety of ways. There is no general agreement on the methods to be adopted or used in measuring police success. Criminal statistics, for example, whilst widely used by the police themselves to measure their own success, are widely acknowledged to be poor guides to police effectiveness and efficiency.

Objectives - incompatible

5.4 Police objectives, however expressed, show some measure of inherent incompatibility. For example, public order is not always achieved by strict law enforcement. The notion of ‘order’ itself is ambiguous, and presumably reflects social context as much as some absolute standard. This ambiguity between ‘order maintenance’ and ‘law enforcement’ can also be seen in other contexts. Some views may prefer to see police activity confined to ‘law’; whereas in contrast, empirical investigations of public calls for police assistance more usually reveal concern with ‘order’, where no law may be involved, and where assistance is the principal demand on the police. Furthermore, most breaches of what the public deem to be ‘order’, (for example, rowdyism, drunkenness) can be deemed crime if the police choose to exercise their very broad discretionary powers. As another example, crime prevention techniques, which in some circumstances might involve non-prosecution of certain kinds of offenders (such as young people) may not always be compatible with crime detection and strict law enforcement.

Objectives - contentious

5.5Police objectives are by their very nature inherently contentious. Though the laws enforced by the police have the legitimacy of legislative authority, the application of the law in particular settings is frequently controversial and contentious. The notion of ‘law enforcement’ and ‘public tranquility’ itself may well imply incompatible activities in some circumstances. Much that the police are asked to do does not enjoy consensual public support. The communities in which the police work are not uniform cultural entities; they are loose amalgams of groups of different interests, experiences and expectations which may well at any given time not be in accord with the particular objectives of police action.

Activities of the Garda Siochana

5.6The kinds of activities which the Garda Siochana undertake are the result of historical and administrative decisions, rather than any rational and systematic planning. Garda activity can be identified as being derived from at least three sources:

6. Priorities and Balance in Objectives

6.1While a statement of objectives is important, it is how those objectives are expressed on the ground that matters. The task of identifying the priorities in a statement of objectives is of paramount importance. It is the priority afforded to an objective that determines the effects of police activity on the general public; operational decisions follow from the placing of priorities on objectives.

6.2In an historical context, the priority in the objectives of modern police forces was quite clear. Sir Richard Mayne in 1829 identified crime prevention as “the principal objective to be obtained. The security of person and property, the preservation of the public tranquility, and all other objects of a police establishment will thus be better effected than by the detection and punishment of the offender after he has succeeded in committing the crime....”. Lord Scarman in his report on the 1981 Brixton riots in the U.K. identified similar priorities when he noted that “....the maintenance of public tranquility comes first....the second duty of the police is, without endangering normality, to enforce the law…”.

6.3 The origins of policing in Ireland, however, differ somewhat from those of other common-law countries. Prior to the foundation of the State, they reflected a preoccupation with the maintenance of public order and law enforcement related to particular priorities. This may still have an influence on contemporary policing practice.

6.4It appears that at present an implicit priority of objectives of policing in Ireland places activities such as law enforcement and the detection of crime, above notions like ‘the preservation of public tranquility’ and crime prevention. This is, in the absence of any clear statement of priorities, a subjective view in so far as it is possible to assess the ordering of priorities of the Garda Siochana. It can of course be argued that law enforcement might contribute to public tranquility, but this serves to miss the point that the notion of public tranquility extends beyond law breaking, to encompass much more general and diffuse activities. The establishment of the appropriate ordering of priorities is a major challenge facing the Garda Siochana.

7. Advisory Panel on the Role of the Garda Siochana

7.1During its examination of the Recruitment and Training arrangements for the Garda Siochana, the Committee became convinced of the need for a fundamental reappraisal of the functions of the Garda Siochana.

7.2 In order to obtain assistance in this undertaking, the Committee decided to establish an Advisory Panel comprising experts and specialists in various fields. The membership of the Advisory Panel is:-

Donal Dineen, Head of the Department of Business Studies, National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick;

Gerry Griffin, Solicitor, Incorporated Law Society nominee;

James Hickey, Principal, College of Commerce, Rathmines;

Niall Lombard, Legal Assistant, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions;

Jack Marrinan, General Secretary, Garda Representative Association;

Michael Moriarty S.C., General Council of the Bar of Ireland nominee;

Michael Murray, General Secretary, Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors;

Dr. David Rottman, Senior Research Officer, Economic and Social Research Institute; and

Professor Maxwell Taylor, Department of Applied Psychology, University College, Cork.

7.3 The Advisory Panel formed two sub-Committees, one of which undertook the task of examining the prosecution system while the other examined the Functions of the Garda Siochana in a broader sense. There were a number of meetings of the Advisory Panel and its sub-Committees.

7.4 The Select Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Panel and their sponsoring organisations for their assistance in this project and for their valuable contribution of the deliberations of the Select Committee.

7.5The Select Committee will be producing other Reports in the near future on other aspects of the Role of the Garda Siochana. These reports will deal with issues such as accountability, management structures, professional skills and the means of assessing performance.

8 Recommendations of the Committee

Objectives of Policing in Ireland

8.1 In undertaking any review of an organisation, the first task is to determine the objectives of the organisation. There is no clear authoritative statement of the objectives of the Garda Siochana. The closest one approaches such a statement of objectives is that contained in the Form of Declaration, to be made by Members of the Amalgamated Force, as contained in the Fourth Schedule to the Police Forces Amalgamation Act, 1925, which states, inter alia:-

“I will see and cause the peace to be kept and preserved, and that I will prevent to the best of my power all offences against the same”.

8.2The occupation of a policeman is unique. He is a subordinate in a disciplined force who must obey orders and directions of his superiors. [There is a legal question mark as to how far an individual member of the Garda Siochana can be directed to exercise his ex-officio powers. This will be considered in a later report]. At the same time his main functions as a Police Officer are vested in him by virtue of his office and not by virtue of the directions of his superiors. Even when acting on the orders of his superiors he may have to exercise personal discretion. The powers and duties of his office vest in him whether he is on or off duty; he is responsible and answerable for any error of judgement in exercising those powers. The powers and duties vesting in the office of a policeman do so by virtue of the common law and statute and can be altered or modified by statute or by decisions of the courts. If it is considered that certain activities should not come within the scope of the Garda Siochana as an organisation then legislation can be enacted removing those functions from the Force.

8.3The Committee considers that it is necessary to have a clear and reasonably generalised and brief statement of the objectives of policing in Ireland. The Committee considers that the following statement of objectives is appropriate for Ireland and that the priority of one as against the other should be as follows (recognising of course that these objectives cannot be taken in isolation from each other, e.g. the prevention of crime necessarily involves the protection of life and property):-

8.4While these objectives might seem to be self-evident and the priority in which they are listed may conform with what the public expect from the Garda Siochana, the reality is that the Garda Siochana seem to place the greatest emphasis on the detection of crime. If one looks at the organisation of the Force and the activities most undertaken by Gardai - this is obviously a subjective approach in the absence of the availability of research or statistical data - then the clear preoccupation of the force has been, and remains, the detection of crime. One has only to look at the Garda Commissioner’s Annual Reports on Crime, to see the emphasis on crime and crime detection. There is little reference to the extent to which resources are devoted to crime prevention and no indication that any methods of ascertaining the effectiveness, if any, of, say, Neighbourhood Watch Schemes are being considered. Adoption of the priorities set out above will require a change in emphasis from the Garda Siochana in their approach to the service which they provide. It also raises a number of issues as to what the Gardai are doing at present and what activities should be removed from them to other organisations and/or to civilians within the Garda Siochana.

Position of Garda Commissioner

8.5The Garda Siochana Act, 1924 (S.2) provides that the Commissioner of the Garda Siochana shall from time to time be appointed, and may at any time be removed, by the Government. In the same way Deputy and Assistant Commissioners may be appointed and removed.

8.6There is no requirement that officers of the Garda Siochana at Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner level should have been serving members of the Garda Siochana immediately prior to their appointment. The Select Committee recommends that this legislative provision should be utilised to appoint some non-Garda Siochana personnel to some of these positions following open competitions. The Committee recognises that a major function of officers at these three levels relates to management activities. The size and budget of the Garda Siochana - 11,400 members and an annual budget of £255 million - makes it a large organisation requiring management and financial skills and disciplines which may not be acquired by Gardai during their career in the Force. In such a pivotal organisation there is a need to attract and utilise the expertise which may be available elsewhere. The time has come for a more management orientated approach. in filling certain senior positions, including the post of Commissioner, whether they be filled from inside or outside the Force.

Liaison Committees - Consultation

8.7A change, in the priority of the Garda Siochana, towards crime prevention must involve the community in close and active liaison with the Garda Siochana. This liaison would take the form of consultation rather than involve any notions of control or accountability. It is the community that is being policed and which needs policing. Police activities do not operate in a vacuum! If the police service is aimed at preventing crime in the community, then it needs the assistance and co-operation of the community. The police, of themselves, can only play their part in preventing crime; the public must play its part. Both groups must come together as a team to assist each other in achieving this objective.

8.8The Select Committee recommends the establishment of national and local liaison groups, to be called National, and Local, Crime Prevention Committees. The members of these Committees could be drawn from national and local organisations and could include representatives from, for example,

There is a fundamental need for a change in the approach and attitude and a commitment to providing the type of service which the public wants.

Non-police duties

8.9Once it is accepted that crime prevention is the first priority of the Force, certain consequential changes are required. There is a need for a critical examination of the activities of the Force. The Garda Siochana is engaged in a number of activities of a non-police nature, for example, certification of forms for unemployment benefit/assistance, the collection of agricultural statistics, and the investigation, report and prosecution for breaches of the Livestock Breeding Acts relating to the inspection and castration of bulls and boars.

Civilianisation

8.10In addition, the Committee considers that a disproportionate number of the Force are engaged in administrative and clerical duties because of the absence of adequate civilian back-up staff. This situation needs to be radically altered and the whole organisation and management of the Force re-directed to its essential tasks as outlined in this Report. In this context, the question of civilianisation does not mean that duties closely allied to police work, which could be done by civilians, should be taken away from Gardai. For example, some community liaison work could be performed by civilians but it is more appropriate that Gardai should perform such duties.

8.11The Committee recommends that civilianisation should not be limited as suggested in the Report of the Garda Siochana Committee of Inquiry (1979) and that there is a need for a more radical approach to civilianisation in the Force than that proposed in that Report. As far as possible, positions of a clerical/administrative nature should be given over to civilian staff. The Committee can see no logical reason why civilianisation should be limited to the extent proposed in the 1979 Report (paragraph 6.60), namely “some small number of posts may require a civilian in the grade of Executive Officer. However, the number in this grade should be kept as small as possible and no civilian in a higher grade (such as Higher Executive Officer) should be employed in the Force”. The Committee fails to understand how such a large proportion of the Force could be engaged in an administrative capactiy, for example, the staff in Garda Headquarters includes 17 Chief Superintendents and 29 Superintendents, out of a total strength of 45 Chief Superintendents and 159 Superintendents

Research - Garda Siochana College

8.12The Select Committee considers that there is a need for more research into the activities of the Garda Siochana. The Committee recommends that this research function be assigned to the Garda Siochana College. For example, there should be greater research on police/community relations. The Committee understands that, in a research programme in Baltimore, police visit houses with questionnaires to ascertain the needs and attitudes of the public. This also increases police/community contact in a non-conflict situation. If the Garda Siochana is seriously concerned about improving police/community relations, then it must engage in practical social research. While consultation as proposed above will be of assistance, there is also a clear and separate need for assessing the views and needs of the public in a professional manner.

Other Recommendations

8.13There are a number of other specific areas of interest which need to be considered briefly and which are designed to improve the effectiveness of the Force and Garda/community relations:-

(i)Promotions: There is a need to identify suitable people at an early stage in their career and to provide a system of rapid promotion for personnel with above average ability, competence, successful work and potential for future leadership. Such a process should begin once a recruit Garda has started his training course.

(ii)Garda presence: The need to consider establishing police clinics was one of the issues discussed in the Committee’s Fifth Report; Visit to Scotland Yard. The danger, and, in some cases, actual, alienation of some sections of the community must be tackled by providing a greater Garda presence in the community.

9. Acknowledgement

9.1The Committee appreciates the assistance given to it by the members of its Advisory Panel on the Role of the Garda Siochana. The views expressed in this Report are, however, the views of the Select Committee and do not necessarily represent the views of the Advisory Panel or any member thereof.

9.2The Committee also appreciates the work of its Clerk. Mr. F.J. Brady and of its Secretary, Miss G. Murphy.

Dr. Michael Woods T.D.

Chairman.

9 December, 1986.