It would be wrong to characterise the Garda Inspectorate's report into An Garda Síochána this week as one where a lack of resources was the source of all of the problems found.
Some very unhealthy cultures were also exposed, as were instances of bad management and bad policing.
However, there is absolutely no doubt that the force is also struggling with the resources it currently has. A change in culture is needed as well as money, but at least with extra funding the reforms have a fighting chance.
The inspectorate painted a picture of a depleted Garda force which now numbers fewer than 13,000 members. There is a shortage of personnel for front line duties, while hundreds of others are desk-bound, filling posts which would be ideal for civilianisation, a process that seems to have failed.
There are fewer than 1,200 Garda members attached to every specialist unit combined across the force, yet 500 gardaí work desk jobs in Garda headquarters alone.
Audit needed
Sergeants and inspectors are snowed under with paperwork, their loads having been made considerably heavier by all of the complaints sent their way by the
Garda Síochána Ombudsman
to investigate on its behalf.
Uniformed gardaí have been drafted in to fill detective postings on an ad-hoc basis and with no specialist training. They are known as detective aides, with some units now having as many aides as detectives.
The Garda Representative Association has been calling for years for an audit to be conducted to establish how many Garda members are needed to provide the kind of policing service that would meet the needs of the nation.
Establishing that figure and working towards it with accelerated recruitment, even though it may take years in the current climate would appear to be the obvious step.
An estimated €40 million is needed for vital IT infrastructure, including a new computer system to manage the dispatch of gardaí to crime scenes.
Crucially, some of these systems would generate long-term data, information in which planning and investment could be grounded and without which guesswork is the order of the day.
Recommendations
One of the lasting legacies of the Garda Inspectorate’s report will be a distrust of the crime figures generated by Garda activity. A chaotic and unreliable system of classifying and reclassifying crime was found to have under-recorded crime in sample studies by 38 per cent.
A greater role for the Central Statistics Office in framing better crime counting practices has been envisaged.
Also recommended are new systems to audit how crimes are recorded as well as tighter controls on who can reclassify crimes to less serious offences or out of the figures completely. All seem like badly needed changes that could happen quickly without any major investment.
The seriousness of unreliable crime data cannot be underestimated. It presents a lie to the public about the level of crime around them. It sabotages planning and allocation of resources.
It also lets off the hook governments who would point to falling crime trends as a justification for cuts in funding for policing.
More than 100 Garda stations have been closed in recent years largely based on the same crime figures the inspectorate has now suggested are, at best, unreliable.
