OPINION:OVER THE past two decades the landscape of policing has radically changed.
Now, at a time when organised and serious crime are features of daily life, when criminals are targeting our elderly and our antiquities, the following question must be asked – where should An Garda Síochána deploy its finite resources to have maximum effect on the living standards of the people?
The primary function of any police service is protection of life and property and investigation and detection of crime.
For any police service to be successful in those endeavours, it needs to be well trained, well equipped, focused, dedicated and in receipt of a constant flow of good quality intelligence, which is the lifeblood of all police operations when tackling crime.
Police work is not a nine to five job, but a service that is required 24/7 and 365 days a year. In recent times rosters have changed to prioritise the Garda response commensurate with the demands for resources at critical and peak times.
This is a welcome development and shows flexibility by an effective and efficient police service. It is an analysis-led response to policing requirements and trends.
The Garda deals with serious crime in all its forms on a daily basis in the State and, unfortunately, in recent times I have noted an increase in attacks on the elderly, particularly those living in rural Ireland.
Recent attacks in Pallasgreen, Co Limerick, and Williamstown, Co Galway, show a disturbing escalation in the brutality being used by criminals and ask questions of our core values as a society and how we protect our most vulnerable.
Being a native of Ballymoe, Co Galway, which is only a short distance from Williamstown and having an awareness of the anxiety and fear generated in the local community as a result of recent attacks, I felt obliged to write this article.
It is incumbent on all of us to protect the rights of vulnerable old people and ensure that they feel safe in their homes. In that regard, the Garda plays a pivotal role in mobilising various community alert schemes which can act as a deterrent to those whose sole business is criminality. These are cases which are a priority for gardaí to investigate and resolve.
In recent times, the new phenomenon from a crime perspective is the targeting by criminals of unique objects of historical and cultural significance. Some of these have little or no monetary value but are priceless in terms of what they mean to us and our heritage. Once again it is imperative to successfully resolve these cases because of their unique and intrinsic nature.
It has become a feature in the recent past to forward tribunal reports to the Garda for further investigation.
This is despite the fact that in some cases approximately 15 years have elapsed since those tribunals of inquiry first began their work.
It is my understanding that those same tribunals never established any criminal or civil liability, nor can they.
They are merely opinion-based judgments and are only fact-finding procedures adjudicating on issues from evidence given under rules which do not conform with the rules of evidence, including allowing hearsay, and thereafter making a determination based on the civil standard of proof – that is on the balance of probabilities, which is the lowest standard of proof that would never be admissible in a criminal trial.
The position now is that gardaí are expected to investigate these same matters and to prove them on the higher standard of proof that is the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt.
This is despite the fact that some of the potential witnesses are dead and memory and recollection of witnesses are a problem.
This puts individuals at a distinct disadvantage when they are defending their rights, good name and reputation.
Garda Síochána na hÉireann means Guardians of the Peace of Ireland.
Surely, for this to have meaning, the Garda should not be asked to use its increasingly scarce resources to pursue alleged wrong-doing for the gratification of some of diverse political persuasion and some sections of the media itself who have their own personal agenda.
Martin Donnellan is a retired assistant Garda commissioner