The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has announced his intention to establish a Garda Inspectorate that will review and report to him on the practices, standards and performances within the force, benchmarked to comparable international policing experience.
Details of how this scheme will work and whether it may impact on the functions of the promised Garda Ombudsman Commission are still unclear, but the initiative reflects the Minister's desire to concentrate political control within his Department.
An interim report by the Morris tribunal, which is investigating Garda corruption in Co Donegal, informed this proposal. Having examined the failure of a variety of administrative systems in coping with Garda corruption over many years, Mr Justice Morris concluded the Department had to be "empowered by knowledge" and not simply take information on faith from the force. The Minister will now consult with the Garda Commissioner, Mr Noel Conroy, concerning the functions of the proposed Inspectorate, before bringing forward amendments to the Garda Síochána Bill in the autumn. That legislation will also provide for the establishment of an Ombudsman Commission. In addition to these measures, Mr Conroy and his senior officers are preparing administrative changes in relation to the management, record-keeping and accountability of the Garda.
Public confidence in the Garda was badly shaken by the Morris tribunal report. Further findings may be even more damaging. That makes the need for root-and-branch reform an absolute priority. At the heart of the malaise has been the gradual emergence of a police culture where individual members feel primary allegiance to their colleagues, rather than to the rule of law and where co-operation is withheld from internal disciplinary inquiries, from the existing Garda Complaints Board and tribunals. Public confidence in the police has waned as abuses and wrong-doings have gone unpunished.
The need for a radical shake-up of existing controls and oversight mechanisms within the Garda is beyond question. The establishment of a genuinely independent Ombudsman Commission with adequate resources to carry out its functions would be a considerable step forward. In the same way, a mechanism to review and report on standards, practices and performance within the force, in the light of best international practice, could only be of benefit.
The reform process should also involve a total overhaul of the training and education of Garda recruits so as to provide the skills for contemporary community policing, with a strong emphasis on human rights. A Garda Inspectorate designed to act as the eyes and ears of the Minister and the Department of Justice has already drawn criticism from the Garda Representative Association and the opposition parties. That resistance might be circumvented if the proposed body was given the kind of independence promised for the Ombudsman Commission.