The DPP is to review prosecution policy relating to alleged assaults on gardaí, he told the conference of the Association of Garda Superintendents yesterday.
Mr James Hamilton said he was aware that some District Court judges had been critical of the practice of charging people alleged to have assaulted members of the force under Section 2 of the 1997 Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
This relates to minor assault offences against anybody, and is a summary offence, which is tried in the District Court and can be prosecuted by the gardaí without reference to the DPP.
However, there is a specific offence of assaulting a garda, under Section 19 of the 1994 Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act. This entitles the accused to choose to be tried by judge and jury. A Garda circular states that such prosecutions should not be brought without the specific authorisation of the DPP.
Mr Hamilton said that, following inquiries, he had discovered that most people alleged to have assaulted gardaí were charged under the 1997 Act. "I do not believe it can have been intended that Section 19 would be little used and I think it necessary to consider whether we have the balance right between use of the two sections," he said, adding he was reviewing prosecution policy in this area.
Mr Hamilton acknowledged that there may be practical reasons why all allegations of assaults on gardaí could not be referred to the DPP, but he also pointed to "the undesirability of the injured party making the decision to press charges in respect of an assault on him or herself".
The DPP also referred to a report from consultants Deloitte and Touche, which he said recommended that gardaí below the rank of superintendent should present cases in court. "I would have to express a note of caution about any such idea unless what is proposed is a change to the court presenter system," he said.
This refers to where sergeants are specially trained to present cases.
"The key factor of an independent review of the prosecution before it is brought would be lost if this change were to take place," he said.
Mr Hamilton was also critical of a recent Law Reform Commission report on penalties for minor offences, which recommended, among other things, that District Court judges should not hand down sentences of more than six months. He pointed out that a minority of the commission recommended this be translated into legislation, while a majority disagreed, suggesting instead that District Court judges adopt it as a sentencing policy.
"I do not believe their proposal is sound," he said. "If the Oireachtas has prescribed a maximum sentence of 12 months for an offence and if a judge of the District Court thinks the appropriate sentence is 12 months' imprisonment, then the judge has a duty to impose that sentence."
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, told the conference the superintendents must engage with publicans, nightclub owners, and owners of off-licences on their legal obligations and responsibilities where the sale of alcohol is concerned.
"The legislation is there to deal with public order issues, there are stiff penalties for non-compliance, yet it is in the concerted and focused enforcement of that legislation that the Garda Síochána will be seen to be effective or not," he said.
He also urged superintendents to use the infrastructure being put in place to enforce traffic legislation. He said he noted the concerns the Association of Garda Sergeants had expressed about the new internal audit procedures, and would discuss them with the association's executive.