Warrents issued for the arrest of more than 5,500 people who have failed to turn up in court to face charges cannot be executed because they have gone missing, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General's (C&AG) report.
The bench warrants in question were issued in the District Court over a 10-year period between 1988 and 1998.
"The courts have not disposed of these cases because in the majority of cases the original bench warrants cannot be traced and the Gardaí cannot therefore bring the charged person before the court," the report said.
"The Gardaí have identified 17 of 1,200 cases outstanding for 1998 as relating to serious crime. The Gardaí point out they have sought and received the directions of the DPP on how to proceed in respect of the 1998 outstanding cases," it added. In addition, the report found there was "an upward trend" in the number of bench warrants remaining unexecuted since 1998.
The main offences for which bench warrants were issued in 2000 and 2001 were larcenies and assaults. When charged with these type of offences, defendants are often released on bail. If they fail to turn up in court for their case, the bail money is forfeited, and bench warrants are issued for their arrest. The report found that the Courts Service is failing to collect "a considerable amount" of this forfeited bail money.
Looking at 4,398 notices for forfeiture and estreatment of bail which were computerised as issued in 2001, the Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, established their total was €638,125 but "just under €20,000" was ever paid.
The Courts Service sends estreatment warrants to the Gardaí for enforcement but the report found "enforcement success rates by the Gardaí are poor".
In many instances estreatment warrants are returned to the Courts Service by gardaí who have been unable to enforce them because the persons charged have no goods or assets. In such instances, however, gardaí have a right to ask a judge to convert the estreatment warrant to a penal warrant under which the person named in it is imprisoned in default of payment of the bail amount stipulated on the warrant. However, the report found, "there is no evidence they are doing so to any significant extent".
The report said the Courts Service also acknowledged there may have been a small amount of "slippage" insofar as it was concerned in the processing of estreatment orders. Mr Purcell concluded that:
The Courts Service procedures for putting the estreatment process in train need to be improved;
There is a need to try to establish a charged person's means before the amount of bail is set. "Failure to do so inevitably results in wasted Garda Síochána time in trying to enforce estreatment warrants where there is little or nothing to estreat";
The enforcement of estreatment warrants should be prioritised by reference to monetary value and collectability. "There may be a case for dispensing with estreatment altogether where the amount involved is not material".
In a submission to Mr Purcell's office, the Garda suggested engaging a debt collection agency as an alternative.
Meanwhile, the report found the prison overtime bill increased by 9.7 per cent last year to over €55 million while Garda overtime was also up and cost €83.7 million. The increased Garda overtime was attributed to controlling the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.