![Garda Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly said: 'We’ve had situations where different organised [crime] groups have threatened to do various harm to children on the other side of [feuds]. Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin](https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/EVULJTKZ32QOLSJ6YQDWDMY2C4.jpg?auth=9e02b70e5a2680ddedb287aa5ffd99c5c37aac68e2cefa0387acd4b70f012735&smart=true&width=1024&height=657)
Some criminal feuds have become so entrenched and violent that threats had been made to young children on opposing sides and parents were wearing bulletproof vests when doing the school run.
Garda Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly said though such cases were rare they were very serious and were one reason why the Garda maintained intelligence files, on its Pulse computerised database, in the names of some very young children.
“We have organised criminal groups who do all sorts of intimidation against each other and the reality of it is we have some people who go to school ... they are wearing bulletproof jackets bringing their kids to school,” he said.
“We’ve had situations where different organised [crime] groups have threatened to do various harm to children on the other side of [feuds]. These are quite unique circumstances, where you would have an intelligence record created around that. In a specific case like that, we would need to know the detail of the child.”
Mr Kelly made his remarks at a public meeting of the Policing Authority in Dublin on Thursday during a discussion around the practice of the Garda maintaining intelligence files on children. The practice continues, though in a much smaller number of cases, and in more selective circumstances, than before when hundreds of intelligence files about young children were on the Pulse system.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has previously expressed its concerns about the practice and the fact that an element of racial or ethnic profiling appeared to be a factor in creating intelligence files on young children.
Elaine Byrne, chair of the Policing Authority, said Thursday’s meeting was the first time the authority had heard that recording a potential threat or serious risk to a child was a reason for creating a Pulse identification for them so that intelligence could be recorded.
“Previous Garda Inspectorate reports have shown that intelligence files have been created for children who are days old, less than a year old,” she said.
Dr Byrne acknowledged the number of intelligence files for children on Pulse has decreased from 400 about four years ago to seven at present. She was satisfied there was “a new regime now” relating to keeping files on very young children. Current practices were better than those previously which gave rise to “obvious concerns”.
“But one intelligence report on a young child is something quite serious because that’s a Pulse record that’s with that child for the rest of their days,” she said. The Garda had now agreed to follow up with the authority about files on young children being opened and maintained and to offer a wider explanation.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the threats to children, resulting in intelligence files on them being created, resulted from “simmering feuds” in Dublin and other parts of the country.
“Those are manifesting themselves in serious assaults, attacks on homes ... and very regrettably an element of that, in the recent past, has been specific mention of threats to children. And this has been connected to the one place you’re sure a child is going to be, at school.”
He described it as “an awful reality” and, though it was a factor in a very small number of cases, they had required the Garda to work with local schools to ensure the safety of those children, and other pupils at their schools.
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