Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1992 > Select Committee on Crime > Report No. 02 - Further Civilianisation within the Garda Siochána

3. General Introduction

Having completed its report on juvenile crime, the Committee decided, as part of its ongoing review of crime, to examine the feasibility of further civilianisation within the Garda Siochana. The Committee decided this having regard to the general public perception that the level of crime, particularly in our cities and towns, could be reduced significantly if more Gardai were involved in operational duties and were more in evidence on our streets concentrating on, for example, preventing juveniles from becoming further involved in street crime; and having regard to the public clamour which is evident for additional Gardai.

Accordingly the Committee considered it appropriate to look at the Garda Siochana to see if its men and women are properly occupied on duties appropriate to their training, and whether or not it would be feasible or desirable to release more Gardai for operational duties by employing more civilians in Garda offices on clerical and other appropriate duties.

4. Historical background

It will be noted that this report is entitled “The Further Civilianisation of An Garda Siochana”. This is because civilians working in Garda offices is not a novel idea. Prior to 1968 a small number of Clerk Typists were employed at Garda Headquarters. In September 1968 the Minister for Justice appointed a Commission, under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Judge John C. Conroy to

“examine, report and make recommendations . . . . . . on the remuneration and conditions of service of the Garda Síochána”.

In the report of January, 1970, the Commission recommended the employment of civilians

“to do clerical work or other indoor work such as telephonists, radio operators etc., except in those areas where police control is exercised or directions are given to a Garda”.

In April 1970, the Minister for Finance authorised the creation of 100 clerical assistant posts in Garda offices. This was the first significant appointment of civilian clerical staff for the Garda Siochana.

In April 1975, a group of Management Consultants were commissioned by the Minister for Justice to review the organisation, assistance and procedures in the Garda Siochana. As part of their brief they were requested to examine the

“extent to which Gardai on clerical duties could be replaced in positions where police control is not exercised and directions are not given to a Garda, and estimate any possible cost savings”.

The Consultants carried out an analysis of the clerical/administrative structure of the Force and identified 547 posts which could be termed “clerical” or which appear to have a clerical content. They concluded that three categories could be used in classifying the posts mainly:-

-jobs to be performed by a civilian

-jobs to be performed by a Garda

-jobs that could be performed by either a civilian or a Garda.

By 1980 the number of civilian clerical staff in Garda offices had grown to 337. In that year a working party comprising representatives of the Department, the Garda authorities and the Garda associations was established on the recommendation of the Garda Conciliation Council to

“determine the appropriate designation as between posts that should continue to be filled by members of the Force and those that could be civilianised”.

The Working Party examined 580 clerical posts then occupied by members of the Garda Siochana and recommended that they be designated as follows:-

The working party’s report was the blueprint for civilianisation in the Force in the early 1980’s. By end-1982 the total number of civilian clerical staff in Garda offices had risen to 456.

The effect of the embargoes on public service numbers in the 1980’s applied equally to civilian clerical posts in the Garda Siochana. Notwithstanding a boost in numbers through the employment of Temporary Clerical Trainees in the mid - 1980’s, civilian clerical numbers declined to 387 by the end of 1989.

In that year, the Government authorised the recruitment of 250 civilian clerical staff for the Garda Siochana on the basis that such recruitment would result in an equivalent increase in operational Garda strength. To date, 194 of these posts have been filled and the balance of the additional staff are being recruited according as successful candidates in the most recent competition for Clerical Assistants are notified to the Department of Justice by the Civil Service Commissioners. The total number of civilian clerical staff currently serving in the Garda Siochana is 550 -the highest ever. This gives a ratio of civilians to Gardai of approximately 1:20.

5. Considerations for further civilianisation

The Committee consider that there are a number of cogent reasons for examining the possibility of introducing further civilianisation within the Garda Siochana.

Firstly, there is the consideration of better efficiency within the Force. The initial training of a Garda Siochana is of 62 weeks duration and equips him or her eminently for work as an operational Garda within the community. Indeed, the modern training methods used in the Garda College, Templemore, are regarded very highly throughout Europe, and are the envy of many police Forces within the European Community. The Committee consider that this training is wasted and misdirected if, as happens, Gardai spend a lot of their time on clerical or administrative type duties. The Committee consider it more efficient to recruit and employ clerical and other appropriate personnel to perform duties to which they are better suited.

Secondly, the Committee consider that civilianisation would afford the Commissioner more flexibility in deploying his policemen and women to ensure that the best possible use is made of them. It also gives the Commissioner the opportunity of availing of additional “expertise” in the form of e.g. para legal personnel.

Thirdly, there is the valuable saving of police time which would be gained by allowing the Commissioner to concentrate his Force on the operational duties for which they are trained. This saving of Garda time could manifest itself in civilians doing such tasks as processing passport applications, inspection of documents at stations, processing of fines, lost property office.

Fourthly, the Committee consider that the employment of civilians in police offices can add a more “human” dimension to policing and can offer to the public a continuity of familiar, non-police, faces in stations to answer queries, sign forms etc. The Committee were particularly struck by what has been achieved in this area both in London and in Copenhagen.

Lastly, there is also a cost factor involved. Using the pay rates application on 1 January, 1992, the average annual cost of a Garda is approximately £12,500. This figure would include the basic salary plus allowances and would apply to a Garda on the lowest point on the pay scale i.e. starting pay. It would rise to over £18,000 at the top end of the scale. It does not include the ongoing costs involved in training and equipping a Garda which must also be added when computing the cost involved. On the other hand, the cost of a civilian clerical assistant on recruitment is £7,380 rising to approximately £10,935 after 10 years.

6. Impact on Policing

To fully appreciate how civilianisation impacts on policing, the Committee decided that it would be prudent to see the effect it has had on policing in other jurisdictions where it has been undertaken successfully. Accordingly, the Committee visited locations in London and Copenhagen. They also visited Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin.

LONDON

The Home Office in London informed the Committee that civilianisation in the U.K. is looked upon as an efficiency initiative which allows for certain operational related tasks to be undertaken by civilian support staff, rather than highly trained police officers, allowing police Forces to redeploy police officers to operational duties and to increase operational strength within existing Force establishments. The appendix attached lists those posts which Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary considers suitable for civilianisation within the 42 police Forces in England and Wales - excluding the London Metropolitan Police Force. The Home Office estimate that the current average cost of a police officer is just under £32,000 and that of a civilian employee is just over £12,000. In both cases police authorities spending is supported by direct grant from central Government at the rate of 51%. In general the UK authorities consider that it makes good sense both financially and operationally to civilianise posts which do not need to be done by police officers.

Under the present arrangements in the UK there is a ceiling on the total number of police officers allowed. All extra posts have to be approved by the Home Secretary. In recent years demands for more officers have outstripped what the British Government has regarded as acceptable in terms of national expenditure. Police Forces have not, therefore, been able to obtain approval for all the extra posts they require, and civilianisation represents a way of providing extra operational police officers because civilian numbers are not controlled by central government.

A number of Forces have civilianised 80% of the posts identified as suitable to be civilianised and indeed one has reached 85%. Progress is monitored by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in its programme of regular inspection visits. Forces with a poor rate of civilianisation are looked on less favourably when application for approval for extra posts are made by them.

Between 1983 and the end of 1991 5,750 police officers had been released for operational duties through civilianisation. The Home Office estimates that in 1992/93 this will provide an efficiency saving of approximately £110,000,000 a year. They estimate that every 500 police officers released in this way gives an efficiency saving of £10,000,000 a year. The Home Office consider that there is scope for up to a further 12,000 police officers to be redeployed to operational duties through civilianisation giving a further efficiency saving in the region of £230,000,000 a year.

The Committee also met with personnel involved in the Civil Staff Department of the London Metropolitan Police, at New Scotland Yard. The Committee were informed that the London Metropolitan Police Service have a wide range of civil staff of varying skills and professions e.g. architects, engineers, scientists, cooks, kennel staff, doctors, statisticians, traffic wardens, storekeepers, school crossing patrols etc. There are approximately 300 different grades of civilians involved. The overall compliment of full and part-time staff is approximately 14,300 which compares with the police establishment figure of almost 28,500. Until about ten years ago the majority of the civil staff worked in Headquarters Departments and civilian support at station level was limited to junior grades such as clerks, typists, garage hands etc. More recently, however, larger numbers of civil staff including management grades have been posted to work at stations - approximately about half are now working locally. The main difference between the Metropolitan Police Service and the Provincial Police Forces is that the latter employ civilian staff to a lesser extent, primarily because much of the support services and the specialists expertise included within the Metropolitan Police Service is provided in other Forces through local authorities.

With few exceptions Metropolitan Police Civil Staff are tied to Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service - they share the same grade and pay structure and pension rights are, to all intents and purposes, identical with other civil servants. In the provinces, local authority pay and conditions of service apply. In broad terms the salary cost of a member of civil staff is almost half that of a police officer. The Metropolitan Police Service give two principle reasons for civilianisation viz. a need to get police officers where they should be i.e. on the streets preventing and detecting crime and secondly it is far cheaper to employ a member of civil staff than a police officer to do civilian work. Posts suitable for civilianisation are identified by regular inspections by the Force Inspectorate and by staff inspections, the main criteria being whether police powers/training/experience are necessary. Staff inspectors then identify the appropriate civil staff grading for the post which may be either administrative or of a specialised nature. Despite the background of releasing posts by civilianisation, wider scope for civilianising areas has arisen in recent years - for example, Area S.E.O.’s have been appointed to oversee the support activities in each of the eight police areas in London, and a Divisional Administrative Officer has been established (at H.E.O. civil service level) on each division. Communications officers at Headquarters and at each Division are steadily being civilianised and civilian reception officers are increasingly taking over initial counter enquiries at stations. The Metropolitan Police Service annual manpower review, which was completed in January 1991, identified a backlog of some 14,000 posts capable of being civilianised.

The Metropolitan Police Services always found that the main constraints on civilianisation has been its ability to recruit additional civil staff to occupy the posts while at the same time replacing wastage. Until recently this has been a very significant obstacle simply because low public sector pay meant difficulties in both attracting and retaining staff. This was particularly significant in certain specialists areas such as engineering and computing services. The staff recruited by the Metropolitan Police, once trained, left for more remunerative jobs. That position has, they say, been greatly eased by the current economic climate with job prospects poor throughout the U.K. The Metropolitan Police have had far less difficulty in recruiting staff recently and wastage has dropped considerably. They expect this position will change again once the recession ends. Accordingly they are trying to maximise their recruitment to get the best out of what is presently a favourably employment market.

The Metropolitan Police Service employ two types of civilianisation. They call the first Head for Head civilianisation. This provides an increase in the number of civil staff employed without any compensating reduction in the police establishment. They are essentially “growth” posts requiring new money to fund them. In this manner, each “Head for Head” civilianisation leads to an increase in the number of civil staff, a reduction in the police support establishment, but a compensating increase in the number of operational officers. It is considered to be value for money because for every civilianisation achieved an additional operational police post is created at the lower cost of employing a member of civil staff.

The second type of civilianisation is called nil cost civilianisation which was first introduced in the year 1990/91. That year the Metropolitan Police Service was given Home Office authority to “cash in” non operational police posts and use the saving to recruit the cost equivalent number of civil staff. Based on current pay relativities this means that for every single police post cashed in, the Metropolitan Police Service can employ approximately 1½ civil staff. This enables the Metropolitan Police Service to replace the police post with a member of civil staff and the balance can be used to employ civil staff for additional support duties or if required to use the entire surplus to fund the additional head for head civilianisation.

During the visit to London the Committee were brought to see civilianisation in operation in the Battersea Division. This Division looks after approximately 80,000 people in the Battersea area which comprises three police stations. The manpower breakdown for the three stations is approximately 160 Constables, 30 Sergeants, 9 Inspectors, 3 Superintendents and 1 Chief Superintendent. The civilian back up for the area consists of 1 Higher Executive Officer, 4 Executive Officers, 1 Typing Manager, 25 Administrative Officers, (of whom four are Communication Officers and four are Station Reception Officers), 6 Administrative Assistants, 6 Typists and 3 Telephonists. Normally, these civilians work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and are rarely required to attend Court. Their duties include typing, preparing traffic accident reports and other traffic reports for the Magistrates Courts, dealing with finance and police personnel, attending at the public counter in each of the three stations answering telephone enquiries, entering crime sheet details onto computers, acting as telephonists etc.

In 1986 the Battersea Division initiated what they call a Crime Support Group. This is a group of seven civilian staff (with no particular training) headed by an Executive Officer whose primary task is to prepare crime cases for Magistrates and Crown Courts. In essence they prepare all the necessary paperwork and present it to the Courts thus freeing the police involved for operational type duties. The Crime Unit, under the watchful eye of a Detective Sergeant, dictates to Constables how cases should be run, and what documentation, for example, needs to be got for presentation to the Courts. The Battersea authorities say the Unit works extremely well and helps to a great extent in ensuring that police officers are free to perform their operational duties more effectively.

Since the late 1970’s the Division has employed a “Court Sergeant System”, where one Sergeant appears in Court on behalf of all the Constables in the Station to give evidence about particular cases. Thus it is not necessary, as is the case in Ireland, for large numbers of police officers to waste valuable time standing around waiting on their case to be called in court or for their evidence to be taken. The Committee consider that it is not defensible at any time to have large numbers of Gardai wasting valuable time in Court. Accordingly, the Committee strongly recommend that this system be examined fully by the relevant authorities in the context of additional civilian backup with a view to its early introduction.

COPENHAGEN

The Committee also visited Copenhagen to meet with senior police and civilian personnel involved with civilianising the Danish police Force.

General

Among other things, the Committee learned that the Police in Denmark, the Faroes and Greenland constitutes one national Force directly employed by the State. In Denmark there is one police officer to every 510 people; the ratio to the Faroes and Greenland is roughly 1 to 530 people. The Minister for Justice is the Supreme Police Authority exercising his powers through the National Commissioner of Police, the Commissioner of the Copenhagen Police and the Chief Constables. The National Commissioner is, inter alia, responsible for central management of personnel and finances and the Copenhagen Commissioner and the Chief Constables are responsible for the management and policing of the districts. Denmark is divided into 54 police districts to which must be added Greenland and the Faroes, which are independent districts. The present structure dates back to 1973 and is a consequence of a major restructuring of local government administration. The restructuring was undertaken at that stage to enable the police to deliver around the clock service to all parts of the country which they have achieved. Consequently Denmark is covered by a network of district police headquarters manned by uniform officers providing a 24 hours police function.

The 54 police districts are organised in seven police regions, structured so as to secure assistance across district boundaries. A region is headed by a Chief Constable of one of its districts. There are 10,300 sworn police officers serving under a wide range of environmental conditions from big city communities areas and traditional Danish rural areas to some of the worlds most forbidding arctic regions.

Civilian Staff

At the end of 1991 the permanent civilian clerical staff comprised some 2,300 persons employed either as public servants or on a contract basis. To this figure must be added approximately 270 clerical trainees. The clerical staff perform a wide range of duties, including finance and accountancy, records and registration duties as well as the issue of passports and licensing of motor vehicles. An increasing number of civilian work processes are being computerised.

The number of civilians is fixed by the Police. There are 2 trade unions for the police and 1 for civilian employees. Both civilians and police are obliged to be members of their respective trade unions. Civilians are not involved in scenes of crime work as they are in England. In Denmark there is a very definite demarcation line between duties of civilians and duties of police. Moreover, civilian clerical staff have their own career structure within the Force.

Police cannot strike in Denmark. Some of the civilian employees can and others cannot, depending on the duties they perform. Over the last ten years the number of civilians in the police has been reduced by 10% for budgetary reasons. The senior police believe that the number of civilians presently working within the Force is sufficient for the tasks they have to do. Civilians are employed directly by the Commissioner and work and stay within their police area. Police are trained over a three year period which includes eight months in a police school, eleven months in a station, eight months back at the school and the remainder in the station. Civilians on the other hand get two years on-the-job training. There is never a shortage of applicants for civilian jobs which are regarded as attractive. The average police salary is 250,000 kroners p.a. as opposed to the average civilian’s salary of 200,000 kroners. (approx. 10 Kr = Ir£1). If overhead costs are included the figures rise to 340,000 kroners and 220,000 kroners respectively.

The Committee visited Glostrup Police District which is to the west of Copenhagen. As opposed to most other police districts in Denmark, the Glostrup Police District which was established in 1960 was not formed on the basis of a provincial town surrounded by villages and farms. It was in fact an area of villages and other small communities and has developed since into its present size which comprises a large industrial area with a growing population and with a wide branch network of roads and motorways. Since its establishment, Glostrup has seen the influx of numerous socially disadvantaged families with many children who have been responsible for a large number of juvenile crimes. Moreover the location of four public institutions, 2 prisons and 2 hospitals, within the District has caused an increase of policing duties. The District is divided into 36 small neighbourhood areas policed by 36 uniformed branch officers now operating what they call a Home Beat Scheme. This Scheme has provided a better understanding between police and locals and has led to enhanced public safety and, to a greater degree, of policing effectiveness. There is a total population of approximately 160,000 people in the Glostrup District, and approximately 380 police officers.

Civilian Staff

The civilian clerical support staff to the police in Glostrup has increased from 14 in 1960 to 60 in 1990. 50 of these work in the Police Officer Sector of Police Headquarters at Glostrup. They undertake duties in the following area:-

receive and distribute internal police mail within the District, keep records on administrative cases, and perform secretarial duties for the Chief of Police; the legal staff; finalise cases for court hearings etc.,

handle annual receipts of approximately 21,000,000 Kroner and expenditure of some 27,000,000 Kroner (1989 figures),

handle some 9,000 cases annually of fines and confiscations, collect court proceedings costs, and

deal with parking offences (tickets),

operate the Lost Property Office,

type documents for the legal staff and purchase office supplies,

issue passports,

prepare case briefs for court, draw up indictments; report court decisions etc.

keep records of cases for the Uniformed Branch of the police Force, including road traffic accidents, drink/driving cases, shoplifting, stolen vehicles etc.

keep a register of private security firms, of road safety cases, of the serving of summonses and writs, vehicle excise, vehicle insurance withdrawals etc.

In addition to this, clerical staff perform duties in the Chief Superintendent Secretary’s Office at the telephone switch board and at the enquiry desk.

DUBLIN

A sub-committee of the Committee met with the Assistant Commissioner of the Garda Síochána who is responsible, among other things, for civilianisation within the Garda Síochána.

It was confirmed to the Committee that the Garda authorities would wish to see civilianisation within the Force extended; that a working party, consisting of representatives of Garda Management and the Department of Justice, is currently looking at suitable areas to be civilianised; and that the Garda authorities accept that a lot of duties could be more properly done by civilians and not Gardai. The Committee welcome the recent assignment of this very senior officer to examine the issue of civilianisation within the Force.

7. SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED FROM THE PUBLIC

In the interest of equity, the Committee considered it prudent to invite oral submissions from some of the interested persons who wrote to the Committee on the topic. Accordingly the Committee met with representatives of both Garda Associations, the Department of Justice, the Public Service Executive Union and the Civil and Public Service Union. Not surprisingly, the Garda Associations were cautious about further civilianising the Garda Siochana. Very briefly, the main points of these submissions are hereunder:-

The Garda Representative Association, which represents rank and file members, hold the view that crime can be best tackled, not through a civilianisation programme, but through further recruitment of Gardai, and by money and resources being made available by Government to counter crime. They hold the belief that the public demand and expect confidentiality in dealing with Gardai about their problems and would not have the same trust in civilians; that civilian personnel should not direct members of the Force in their duties; and that civilians are not held accountable for their actions as members of the Force are under its strict discipline code.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, pointed out to the Committee that even where civilians are already employed in Garda offices, Gardai still have to do a certain amount of clerical work of necessity. Moreover they said that the 24 hour nature of a Garda’s work is not suited to be civilianised, and that the financial saving predicted by some people in employing civilians instead of Gardai is not real. They also see the possibility of civilians striking and disrupting the smooth running of the Force. They would oppose as undesirable the possibility of extending civilianisation “up the ranks”. However they would be prepared to take part in any working party set up to examine the issue and would not take a stand in principle against further civilianisation provided that it did not cut across Garda powers. As with the Garda Representative Association, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors see the perceived lack of Gardai on the streets being properly addressed by further recruitment. They also called for the retirement age to be permanently extended from 57 to 60 years.

The Department of Justice explained to the Committee that it was the Minister’s broad policy that civilianisation within the Force should be expanded. They said the case for civilians within the Force performing certain clerical type duties is that (1) they are trained for such duties whereas Gardai are not and (2) the cost factor - a civilian is cheaper to employ than a Garda. The Department is concerned to start with clerical and other appropriate posts and say that other areas could, in time, be civilianised i.e. computers, storemen, mechanics etc. They pointed out that, internationally, Ireland is out of step with its colleagues in Europe e.g. the London Metropolitan Police have a ratio of 1 civilian to 2 police officers; in Ireland the ratio is approximately 1 to 20 and in the F.B.I. in the U.S.A. civilians predominate. They said that there is no evidence that strike action would ever be a problem among civilians working for the Garda Siochana and that other jurisdictions cope well with civilians within their police Forces. If the Department considered there was a real risk to security or confidentiality through civilianisation then they would not advocate it. The Department would see no difficulty in transferring the onus of employing civilians from the Minister for Justice, as it is currently, to the Garda Commissioner. The Department of Justice’s approach to civilianisation would be a job by job examination for suitability. They suggested that in future perhaps civilians could be recruited direct by the Civil Service Commission for work in the Garda Siochana just as the Gardai themselves are recruited. That way they would be seen as another dimension to the Force. The Department pointed out that by and large civilians currently working within the Garda Siochana area work a 9 to 5 day but some work shift hours and this could be extended without great difficulty. Ireland has 1 Garda for every 323 citizens. In Sweden the ratio is 1:500; Germany 1:300 and in Netherlands and Denmark the ratio is 1:350.

Staff Unions

There are two Unions involved in the civilianisation issue. The first is the Civil and Public Service Union which represents the grades of Clerical Assistant, Clerical Officer and Staff Officer. The second is the Public Service Executive Union which represents the grades of Executive Officer, Higher Executive Officer, and Administrative Officer.

The Civil and Public Service Union represents approximately 10,000 clerical and administration workers employed in Government offices in the grades of Clerical Assistant, Clerical Officer and Staff Officer. They perform such duties as typing, reception, switchboard, accounts work, casework, personnel duties, statistical work etc. They have been employed in the Garda area since 1972 and currently total approximately 550 persons. The Union’s position is that they would welcome further civilianisation of the Garda Siochana in areas where Gardai are obviously doing clerical work for which they have neither been trained nor recruited. The Union dismissed the reservation expressed by the Garda Representative Association about confidentiality, and believe that their members are no more a security risk than are members of the Force. They reject the industrial action or “strike” reservation voiced by some in the context of civilianisation and say that in the twenty years in which their members have been working within the Garda area there has never been a problem. They would regard shift work as being negotiable. They consider that further recruitment of Gardai is not the answer and say that better use of the existing Force by increasing the number of civilians within the Force is the avenue to follow.

The Union is prepared to immediately commence talks with the Garda authorities and the Department of Justice on the establishment of a civilian clerical structure in the Garda Siochana. They believe that up to 1,000 Gardai could be released for operational duties within a relatively short period of time. They identified Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Area Headquarters, Harcourt Square, the Garda College and the Communications Network as some of the areas from which Gardai could be released for operational duties. They consider it important that if any review of posts to be civilianised within the Force is to be undertaken that they be fully involved (they are not at present). They would not object to their members being employed by the Garda Commissioner, and would like to see a career structure developed for their members working in Garda offices.

The Public Service Executive Union represents the higher grades of Executive Officer, Higher Executive Officer and Administrative Officer. The Union is committed to pursuing a policy of civilianisation within the Garda Siochana up to and including Chief Superintendent rank. They identified certain areas of the Force, including Garda Headquarters and the Communications network, as being suitable for further civilianisation. They pointed to the ratio of civilians to police officers in Northern Ireland and the London Met. (1:5.6 and 1:2 respectively) and to the Garda Siochana ratio of 1:20 approximately as clearly indicating that there is great scope for further civilianisation. As with their colleagues in the Civil and Public Service Union, the Public Service Executive Union found the confidentiality and strike arguments to be unacceptable. They would consider it preferable to have the Commissioner responsible as the employer of civilians within the Force and said that shift work would not present a difficulty to their members who already work shift hours in areas of the Department of Justice and Revenue Commissioners for example. They would see further civilianisation being undertaking on a planned phased basis and not rushed. They say that the structure to operate as between civilians and Gardai within the Force needs to be teased out-possibly by a working party.

Accordingly it will be seen from the above summaries that the Garda Unions are generally cautious of the further civilianisation of the Force and that the civilian staff unions are in favour of it. The Minister for Justice is, as already stated, committed to further civilianising the Force. The Garda authorities are also in favour of extending civilianisation within the Force.

8. RECOMMENDATIONS

After careful deliberation involving meetings with the Garda Unions concerned, the civilian Unions concerned and the Department of Justice, and having undertaken visits to Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park and abroad to see civilianisation of Police Forces in other jurisdictions, the Committee is satisfied that there are compelling reasons for undertaking further civilianisation within the Garda Siochana.

The general public has a right to go about its daily functions without fear of harassment, assault, robbery etc. confident in the knowledge that it is being properly looked after by its police Force. Moreover, the public have the right to have their personal safety reassured by the visible presence of Gardai on the streets.

Similarly, every citizen has a right to feel safe and secure within his/her own home and not to have this right violated or have property stolen or interfered with. There is an overwhelming and legitimate demand from the public for our Gardai to provide this security. However, in a time of limited finances and resources, the provision of this security to all our citizens is not always possible when there are large numbers of Gardai taken up with duties which could be undertaken by civilians.

The Committee consider that this public demand could be addressed to a significant degree by ensuring that Gardai can devote their energies to the operational duties of their profession. The Committee consider that civilianisation would ensure a more efficient Force with more policemen and women available to the Commissioner for deployment as he considers necessary in his on-going efforts to combat and defeat crime. The Committee are fortified in their views by what they saw in London and Copenhagen, and accordingly the Committee recommends:-

(a)that the policy of further civilianising the Garda Siochana espoused by the Department of Justice should be actively pursued by means of an intensive examination of Garda posts with a view to identifying as many posts as possible which properly lend themselves to be civilianised, thereby releasing as many Gardai as possible for operational duties.

(b)that further civilianisation should concentrate, in the first instance, on releasing Gardai currently employed on clerical and administrative type duties. The Committee consider there is no justification for clerical or associated work being done by Gardai specifically trained for operational duties.

(c)that the proposed civilianisation programme should not end with the civilianisation of clerical and administrative type posts. They consider that, in tandem with civilianising those posts, other non-clerical areas should be considered for civilianisation. The Committee consider that the posts listed in the appendix to this report could serve as a guide to the areas which could be civilianised within the Garda Siochana.

(d)that a Body be set up, under an agreed independent Chairperson, comprising the Garda Authorities, the Garda Representative Associations, the two Unions currently representing civilian staff and the Department of Justice to consider and examine all Garda posts for suitability to be civilianised. The Committee see this Body not only identifying posts for civilianisation but also monitoring matters on an on-going basis as is done by Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary in the U.K. The Committee would expect this Body to produce a plan for further civilianisation within the Garda Siochana and to oversee its implementation. Moreover, the Committee would suggest that the Body would report annually to the Minister for Justice on progress.

(e)that a career structure for civilians working within the Garda Siochana should be formulated to make their jobs more attractive and to provide them with the possibility for advancement that they could reasonably expect in their chosen career.

(f)that consideration be given to recruiting civilian staff, specifically for work in Garda offices, through the Civil Service Commission.

(g)that support groups, similar to the Crime Support Groups operated in the Battersea Division of the London Metropolitan Police, and a system similar to the “Court Sergeant System” should be considered by the Garda Commissioner to free policemen and women for operational duties. The necessary changes in the laws of Evidence and Practice should be made to facilitate this.

(h)that the Commissioner take over responsibility for the civilians currently working in the Garda Siochana and that he be the employer of civilians recruited to the Force in future.

9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Committee wishes to express its appreciation of the work of the Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Peter Lumsden, and of the assistance given to it by the Secretary to the Committee, Ms. Mary Harte.

Thanks are also due to all those who took the time to write to the Committee on the topic and especially to those who made time available to come and speak with the Committee.

___________________

Máirín Quill, T.D.,

Chairwoman.

23 July, 1992.