The issue of Garda reform is in danger of running away with itself. Political self- interest and structural reform doesn’t always pull in the same direction. Attach strong voices with strong opinions to that concoction and there is the danger that momentum outstrips clarity and sense.
Political parties arguing that politics should be taken out of policing while simultaneously putting motions to the Dáil that the Garda Commissioner should be removed from office is the most glaring example of that lack of clarity. If that type of momentum and imprecision continues into the coming days and weeks there is every possibility that the Government will appoint a Patten-like commission that may further undermine morale in policing structures and personnel or further delay the reforms that are already well delineated and waiting to be implemented.
There was neither mystery nor magic to Patten. There was, however, clarity as to who was in charge. The Northern Ireland Policing Board would be the hub and the driver of change, appointing all senior police officers and holding the chief officer to account for delivery and change. The board was to be well funded and well staffed. The board was to work closely with the other limbs of policing such as the inspectorate and ombudsman, but the board was the primary and the authoritative manager of change.
The Policing Authority, officially established in the Republic in 2016, replicated the board but, foolishly, without the same breadth of power. Politicians are now scrambling to rectify that blunder. A review will only delay that which can and should be done immediately. The Government and the Dáil does not need a review to implement that which is now agreed and to give the proper range of powers to the authority.
As the power of holding the Garda Commissioner to account lies with the authority, it surely follows that it is that body which should decide whether the present commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan is the one to carry through the reforms. If it is their judgment that they can work with her and that she has the ability and the determination to implement those changes, if they trust her capability, then they should tell the Government, the political parties, the media and the public that that is the case and that further speculation from any or all of those sources is futile and unhelpful.
Proper governance
If they are of the opinion that the commissioner is not that person and does not have their confidence, they should inform her firstly and then all others that they are going to replace her. If the Government or the motions emanating from the Dáil force the replacement of the present commissioner, it will do further harm to the proper governance of policing.
The Patten Report contained about 160 recommendations. When I first read them I shed a tear. They were a type of mission statement. They captured the essence of what needed to happen in order to bring a very large and contentious organisation into a more balanced and creative relationship with the communities it would serve.
In 2015 the Garda Inspectorate published a report which contained many, probably most, of the ambitions of the Patten Report. But it went way beyond the aspirations and into the practical details of reform and change that should happen within the governance, management, training, operational practices and culture of an Garda Síochána.
It is an excellent report. Any review that did not use it as its manual would be foolish; the accusation of reinventing the wheel comes to mind. Within that excellent report is a repeated mantra that previous recommendations emanating from other reports had not been implemented. That culture has obviously not changed and if the mantra of politics being taken out of policing is to be adhered to then the only organisation that can and should change that culture is the Policing Authority.
The issue of taking politics out of policing arises often in the continuing debate. It is a shallow if understandable mantra. Policing is a highly political issue, and the accusation is that former governments and parties have used and abused it to their advantage. The settled mind of most western countries is that government holds the ultimate authority and responsibility for policing (the security of the citizen is a primary responsibility) but that the strategic and day-to-day management and governance should be delegated to an independent body. Patten addressed the issue by proposing an authority that contained a strong coterie of independent citizens combined with representatives from the political parties.
My experience of working that system is that those independent citizens will have the numbers to take the hard decisions that political parties might find difficult but that the presence and the stature that comes from elected politicians ensures that the Policing Board/Authority is representative and authoritative. Government is much less likely to interfere in an organisation that contains some of its own members as well as other politicians.
Political representation
Ultimately, of course, any organisation is only as good as the people who manage it. It strikes me that the eight people who sit on the Policing Authority are top quality. They are not in existence all that long, and they were initially not supplied with the proper powers. I strongly believe that political representation on the authority, a la Patten, would enhance their ability to implement and oversee the necessary reforms.
I recognise, of course, political sensitivity. The present Government and other parties have publicly committed themselves to a root-and-branch review of An Garda Síochána. Perhaps a suggestion made to the present Minister for Justice is not past its sell-by date and would get everyone off the hook. Before the present authority was established it was suggested that a few people should be appointed to visit all parts of the country to talk to gardaí about their views and their hopes for the future. Talking and listening to the people who will ultimately make policing work would be no bad thing. It is the job of the authority or people appointed by the authority to undertake that job.
The right structures to bring about reform are already in place. All they need is the proper power, encouragement and time to make it happen. A new commission will only serve to slow that up.
Denis Bradley is a journalist and former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board