NEW MORE detailed custody sheets for people being detained by An Garda Síochána are expected to be introduced in Garda stations in the near future, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said yesterday.
He was speaking at Cork City Hall at a civic reception by Lord Mayor Donal Counihan in recognition of his appointment as Garda Commissioner.
The commissioner said a review of the custody sheets has been in progress for more than a year and a new custody record - which is capable of storing more detail and which has been approved by the Director of Public Prosecutions - would be introduced shortly.
Gardaí will also introduce information leaflets for people in custody, as well as new guidance notes for officers on the treatment of those in custody. Training will be provided for gardaí regarding the implementation of the new measures.
"These guidance notes will guide our people to ensure that they are aware of what should be done, how it should be done and that the human rights and personal dignity of people who are unfortunate enough to have to be processed by An Garda Síochána in custody are upheld," he said.
Last week in his report on the arrest and detention of Clonmel schoolboy Brian Rossiter, senior counsel Hugh Hartnett found that his detention for a suspected public order offence was unlawful and he criticised gardaí over their custody record-keeping.
Mr Hartnett found there was a failure to accurately record the times at which the youth was given information on the reason for his arrest, the right to consult a solicitor and the notification of his parents that he had been arrested.
The commissioner ruled out issuing non-lethal weaponry to gardaí on the beat.
Earlier this month in Co Cork, an inquest heard how officers were unable to disarm a young man, Trevor Clancy (26), who killed himself by impaling himself on two knives during a stand-off with gardaí in Fermoy after he had stabbed and wounded an officer.
The incident in December 2006 was subsequently highlighted at the Garda Representative Association agm where calls were made for gardaí to be issued with non-lethal weaponry such as pepper spray to help them disarm people in such situations.
Last week, members of the Emergency Response Unit used a Taser gun, which emits a projectile with an electrical charge, to disable a suspect.
It was the first such use of the disabling equipment in Ireland. The commissioner ruled out any immediate roll-out of such weaponry to the force and said he wanted to maintain the present situation of an unarmed police force.
The use of such non-lethal weaponry would only be decided following a pilot programme by the armed Regional Response Unit being established in Cork and Limerick.
To suggest Taser guns would be issued in every district was "a jump miles too far" the commissioner said.