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Publication of the Annual Report of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission for 2019

The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD, has today welcomed the Annual Report of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) for 2019. The report was submitted to the Minister by GSOC and brought to the government yesterday by Minister Flanagan.

Welcoming the annual report, Minister Flanagan said:

"The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission along with the other policing oversight organisations, the Policing Authority and the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, carry out a very important oversight role in relation to An Garda Síochána. This is critical to public confidence in the service at all times, but none more so than at present, when on An Garda Síochána plays such a central role in the national effort to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic."

GSOC is an independent statutory body, and its primary responsibility is to deal with complaints made by members of the public concerning the conduct of members of An Garda Síochána. The annual report sets out detail on the activities of GSOC during 2019, including information on the type and volume of complaints made to it.

The report sets out that 1,756 complaints were made to GSOC by the public in 2019, in relation to 2,885 allegations of wrongdoing. It is notable that the volume of complaints in 2019 (1,756) was almost 9% less than in 2018. The Report suggests that this reduction may in part be accounted for by commencement of a new procedure allowing for resolution at a local level of complaints from the public in relation to service they have received from the Garda Síochána.

Commenting on the reduction in complaints identified in 2019 by GSOC, as well as its suggestion on the reason for this reduction, Minister Flanagan continued:

"I am pleased to see that the local intervention process, whereby complaints in relation to less serious matters can be resolved locally, appears to be having a positive impact. It is particularly positive to hear that 50% of complaints were resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant following that local process - this is in keeping with the interest we all share for speedy and satisfactory resolution of complaints."

The report further details that the Garda Commissioner imposed 96 sanctions on individual Gardaí in 2019, following complaints to GSOC. In addition, following criminal investigations by GSOC investigators, 23 files were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2019, resulting in 5 directions for prosecution, 14 directions for no prosecution and 4 decisions pending.

The Minister concluded:

"The Garda Síochána have a strong tradition of policing by consent. The oversight function carried out by GSOC plays an important part in maintaining public trust, confidence and in An Garda Síochána. I am grateful to Commissioners Justice Mary Ellen Ring, Kieran Fitzgerald and Patrick O’Sullivan and the staff of GSOC for the work carried out last year and its ongoing role even during this difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic."

ENDS

Notes to the Editor:

The GSOC Annual Report 2019 will shortly be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, as required by legislation and published on the website of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: www.gardaombudsman.ie.

GSOC is an independent statutory body, established under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended. GSOC’s primary responsibility is to deal with complaints made by members of the public concerning the conduct of members of An Garda Síochána. GSOC also has a number of other functions including public interest investigations and examination of certain Garda practices, policies or procedures.

GSOC may investigate allegations of misconduct by members of An Garda Síochána in a number of ways – by way of a criminal investigation managed wholly by GSOC; through non-criminal investigations conducted by GSOC; through disciplinary investigations conducted by a Garda Superintendent under GSOC supervision and through disciplinary investigations conducted by a Garda Superintendent unsupervised by GSOC.

The allocated budget for GSOC in 2019 was €10.66 million with actual expenditure of €10.69 million. During 2019 the staffing compliment of GSOC has risen from 92 at end 2018 to 125 at 31 December 2019, an expansion sanctioned to address the Commission’s workload.

The report sets out that 1,756 complaints were made to GSOC by the public in 2019, in relation to 2,885 allegations of wrongdoing.

The report identifies that in 2019, allegation types included:

  • 28% relating to neglect of duty (failure to take an action that could have been reasonably expected)
  • 18% relating to non-fatal offences (allegations of a criminal offence including, for example, assault)
  • 18% relating to abuse of authority (the excessive use of force, or an instruction given beyond a Garda’s authority)
  • 10% relating to discourtesy

The greatest number of allegations in the country were recorded against Gardaí in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), with 930 allegations made in 2019. Outside the DMR, Cork City (177), Kerry (145) and Limerick (139) were the divisions with the highest number of allegations made against Gardaí.

These allegations were investigated in a number of ways, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005:

  • 42% of allegations were managed by means of criminal investigation, conducted wholly by GSOC (for example, in the case of allegations of assault)
  • 35% were managed through disciplinary investigations conducted by a Garda superintendent, unsupervised by GSOC (for example, in the case of allegations of abuse of authority during an arrest)
  • 13% were managed through non-criminal investigations conducted by GSOC, where they involved allegations of certain types of disciplinary investigations or systemic matters
  • 9% were managed through disciplinary investigations conducted by the Garda Síochána, supervised by GSOC. Supervised investigations are appropriate in allegations of more serious allegations of neglect of duty, for example, insufficient investigation of a serious crime
  • 1% were discontinued prior to initiation of investigation

The report details that the Garda Commissioner in 2019 imposed 96 sanctions on individual Gardaí following complaints to and/or investigations by GSOC. These ranged from advice to the Garda, to a caution, to a reduction in pay. In addition, following criminal investigations by GSOC investigators, 23 files were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2019, resulting in 5 directions for prosecution, 14 directions for no prosecution and 4 decisions pending. These cases related to assault, careless driving, disclosure of certain information, theft and fraud.

The Garda Síochána Act requires that the Garda Commissioner shall refer any matter to GSOC where it appears that the death of, or serious harm to, a person occurred because of the conduct of a Garda Member. GSOC received 40 of these referrals in 2019. Sixteen of these related to fatalities and 60% related to road traffic incidents.

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