Garda should have disclosed 999 call controversy much sooner - Policing Authority

The Garda should have been more open and given a quicker explanation about their internal findings around the cancellation of 999 calls, the head of the Policing Authority has said.

Bob Collins added the matter was one “of great seriousness and one of considerable concern to the public” and the Garda’s initial approach had undermined the later positive action it took.

“Much of the uncertainty and doubt created might have been avoided had the Garda Síochána been more forthcoming with the authority and with the public and had the very good work that was undertaken when the nature of the problem was first identified in September 2020 been more directly and openly linked to the nature of the circumstances involved,” he said.

Writing in the 2021 annual report of the Policing Authority, published on Thursday, Mr Colins said while much had been done to investigate and remedy the problems, his agency had commissioned its own review into it. The report added “the requirement for close scrutiny and oversight of this issue by the authority is likely to continue for some time”.

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However, Mr Collins also clarified that the “cancellation” of calls - so-called because some 999 calls to the force were marked as being ‘cancelled’ by some Garda personnel - related to either “the inadequate recording of or response to emergency calls”.

In many cases when calls were cancelled, a Garda response was delivered to the caller, including gardaí calling to a crime scene or to the caller’s address. However, because those calls were marked as “cancelled”, even though they were received and prompted a Garda response, no follow-up Garda actions were undertaken.

This includes welfare calls to victims or vulnerable people at the centre of domestic violence-related calls. Furthermore, when calls were cancelled, there was no requirement on the gardaí handling them to log the details on the Garda’s Pulse database. That meant patterns of increasing or more frequent risk to a vulnerable person did not accrue, resulting in warning signs being lost.

The authority said it would “continue to closely oversee and scrutinise this issue until an adequate resolution is delivered”.

The Policing Authority is a Garda oversight agency provided for by the Garda Síochána Act 2005. It sets priorities and performance targets for the Garda and reviews the performance of the force. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and his senior management team appears before the authority, only a monthly basis, in private meetings followed by public sessions at which all policing issues, and controversies or concerns, are discussed.

The authority is also responsible for the selection and appointment of senior personnel in the Garda, from superintendent level to Garda commissioner. It appointed 7 chief superintendents in 2021, two deputy commissioners and 19 superintendents.

The authority’s spend for the year was €3.3 million. It has 38 employees and appointed four new authority members last year.