Every organisation has difficulties from time to time. On such occasions the lucky ones have people they can send out to argue a case that will make sense to the public, writes Mark Hennessy
And, sadly, there are times when organisations are not so fortunate, as happened, pretty spectacularly, this week in the case of the Garda Síochána.
Faced with questions about the Garda's conduct and disciplinary record, the Assistant Commissioner, Nacie Rice could do little more than fumble.
Yesterday morning the Garda Representative Association's general secretary, P.J. Stone, managed to do even worse on RTÉ's Morning Ireland. Mr Stone, who speaks for the Garda's rank-and-file, though not the organisation as a whole, resorted to cheap shots alleging bias on the part of the programme-makers.
Even if he was right he was still wrong, because the programme mirrored the view of an ever-larger number of citizens that something is seriously wrong inside the Garda.
Most of us who increasingly feel forced to hold that opinion are uncomfortable with it, since we would prefer to be supportive, rather than critical of The Thin Blue Line. Undoubtedly, officers face a difficult, and at times miserable, job on the streets in a country where respect for authority of all hues and the uniform has gone out the window.
However, the Garda is not helping its own case. Stung by criticism that it tolerates, or fails to move against, its bad apples, the force insists it has brought errant colleagues to book on a variety of criminal charges.
Though true, this is not enough. Such prosecutions, which have related to offences ranging from child pornography to the taking of bribes, deal with criminal acts.
However, the prosecutions, as far as one can tell, have not dealt with the conduct of officers who have behaved appallingly towards members of the public. Time and time again complaints to the poorly equipped Garda Complaints Board result in a mild slap on the wrist, a week's pay docked or, just as likely, no action at all.
The State paid out €80,000 to two Dublin sisters, Ciara and Grainne Walsh, after they were arrested and manhandled by officers in Grafton Street late one night in April 1998. The two women took a civil action and received a Garda apology.
The Garda investigation into the officers' conduct towards them did not start until that action was concluded. When it did, it proceeded to run into the sand. The Commissioner decided earlier this year that because of the lapse of time and retirements no action would be taken.
The Garda Síochána of 2004 is already being judged against the background of the still incomplete inquiries into its conduct in Abbeylara and Donegal.
The allegations, and they are still allegations, made in both cases to date would be enough to do near-terminal damage to the reputations of most organisations.
The litany of cases cited by Prime Time, though most of them were not new, have added to the perception that officers are not made to feel accountable.
The proposed Garda Ombudsman may rectify some problems, though only if the office gets from the very beginning powers to perform as close as possible to those enjoyed by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman .
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has already indicated that the new body may be more powerful than was first mooted last July. It had been understood up to now that the Ombudsman investigators would not have freedom to go at will into Garda stations during their inquiries, and would instead have to offer 48-hours notice. Such a rule would have made a nonsense of the legislation given that it has been alleged that officers have forged signatures on search warrants, perjured themselves in court and a lot more besides.
If just a fraction of this is true, then it is equally likely that a tiny minority would make sure that there would be little left for investigators to find if such advance warning had to be offered.
Yesterday, however, the Department of Justice insisted that the 48-hour rule would only apply in cases where national security was at issue, and notice would not have to be given by the Ombudsman when it is probing the conduct of individual officers.
Equally, Prime Time has left judges with issues to mull over. A retired Circuit Court judge, Mr Anthony Murphy, believes that gardaí have lied on oath before him.
Other judges agree, as witnessed by their ridiculing of some Garda evidence for decades.
If they believe officers have perjured themselves, it must be asked why they have not referred cases to the Director of Prosecutions, and if they have not failed in their duty for not doing so.
Part of today's problems have been caused by politicians who have shied away from confronting the Garda simply because most TDs are afraid of them, and have been given reason to be afraid. The Minister of State and Wicklow TD, Dick Roche, displayed considerable courage in appearing on Prime Time to support the allegations of one of his constituents.
Besides the more serious allegations, the Garda has other issues to look at that go to the heart of how individual members see themselves and the rest of us.
Most people, thankfully, will never be involved in anything like Abbeylara and Donegal, or get thrown into a Garda van in Grafton Street as the Walsh sisters found.
Instead, our judgments on the force will be based on more mundane matters, like how gardaí respond to calls about burglaries and car thefts.
Do they listen? Do they act? Do they care? By that yardstick the Garda is failing, and failing badly.