The Garda’s intelligence system recorded three incidents of babies being caught speeding in recent years, the result of poor data entry practices by the force.
The widespread entry of incorrect information into the Garda’s systems also resulted in multiple files showing what appeared to be child criminals committing crimes before they were even born.
The findings are contained in an analysis by the Garda Inspectorate into the creation of police intelligence records for children. Just under 60 per cent of a sample of records analysed by the watchdog had an incorrect date of birth.
The inspectorate’s report comes 10 years after concerns were first raised about the large numbers of intelligence records being created for children under 12 years of age, which is the age of criminal responsibility.
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The latest report reveals new information on the problem, including that before 2014 intelligence records were being created for babies, including a 10-month-old who was recorded as being “involved in crime” and another child who was 42 days old.
New rules introduced in 2014 meant almost 3,668 child-intelligence records being deleted and the introduction of stricter criteria for the creation of new files.
However, the creation of intelligence files on children began to creep back up after 2015 and by 2020, some 400 such files were being created a year.
The following year, the introduction of further controls and additional training for gardaí caused the creation of child intelligence files to reduce significantly. Last year, just seven files were created.
Overall, 2,204 records have been created for children below the age of criminal responsibility in the last decade, including 587 for children under three.
While many records on children related to child protection concerns, the inspectorate found continued instances of criminal intelligence files being created on the Garda’s Pulse system for “inappropriate” reasons.
These included a mother and a one-year-old child sitting in a car waiting for their laundry and a mother, father and a two-year-old child who were seen walking.
Despite recent improvements in Garda record keeping, the inspectorate noted several ongoing areas of concern, including the poor recording of dates of birth, which resulted in speeding offences being recorded against apparent infants.
The inspectorate has now ordered the force to conduct an audit of all intelligence files and Pulse records relating to children.
Olga Cronin of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said the report is “deeply troubling”.
“It’s still very unclear why some children in Irish society, including infants, have been recorded on a police system. Who are these children? They, and their parents, have a right to know.”
