GARDA COMMISSIONER Fachtna Murphy is to establish a new sex offences unit to centrally record complaints against sex offenders and improve the prosecution rate of sex crimes.
Mr Murphy said the move had been prompted by the Murphy and Ryan reports into cleric child sex abuse and the Catholic Church’s handling of cases, which had outlined a “shameful history of child sexual abuse”.
“The unit will also be focused on assisting and advising gardaí in the investigation of [sex] crimes and in promoting best investigative practice in line with international standards,” he said.
Members of the unit will be appointed as official liaison officers to deal with the church and agencies involved in child welfare and assisting sex abuse victims. They will be trained in the skills needed to interview young children who have been abused.
Mr Murphy said a policy document on techniques for investigating sexual offences had been compiled by Deputy Commissioner Martin Callinan in the aftermath of the Murphy and Ryan reports and would be distributed to gardaí in the coming days to improving the force’s handling of cases.
“We must show our understanding of the physical and emotional pain often suffered by victims, whether of recent or historical abuse,” Mr Murphy said.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (Agsi) in Galway last night, Mr Murphy also confirmed gardaí were not “at this point in time” conducting any investigation into Cardinal Sean Brady’s handling of cleric abuse cases.
The new sexual crime management unit will select a number of complaints and monitor them to ensure best practice investigations and the speedy progress of cases to criminal trial.
Groups advocating on behalf of sex crime victims have long complained that very few complaints to gardaí result in perpetrators being charged and prosecuted.
The new unit will be established within the existing domestic violence and sexual assault unit. “That’s where the expertise is,” he said.
Its emphasis will be on sexual crimes against children and on child neglect cases. However, it will also deal with sexual attacks on adults. It will be led by a detective superintendent and will begin work next month.
Mr Murphy told delegates he welcomed the breakthrough yesterday in pay talks between the Government and public sector unions.
He needed to focus his resources on tackling crime rather than policing industrial disputes.
He said that while public sector expenditure cuts had put pressure on the Garda, he had been in constant contact with Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to secure exemptions for the force to the public sector recruitment and promotions moratorium.
Some 194 members had been promoted to the ranks of sergeant, inspector or superintendent in recent weeks.
Agsi president Dan Hanley, in his conference address to Mr Murphy, said it was imperative that middle management vacancies created by record numbers of early retirements be filled to safeguard standards within the force.
“Over 40 per cent of members have less than five years’ service and over 60 per cent have less than 10 years’ service. I cannot stress enough how important it is that our units are properly supervised to maximise their effectiveness and to minimise problems.”
Mr Hanley said the pay cuts imposed on Garda members had resulted in many now experiencing financial difficulties.
He urged Mr Murphy to “beef up” the employee assistance service, which helps Garda members with any personal or work related difficulties they may be experiencing.