THE GARDA WATCHDOG received 2,226 complaints about garda behaviour last year, over 40% more than in 2023, including a case where a garda member removed his brother from detainment after he allegedly committed sexual assault.

The garda’s brother was detained by security at an event following allegations of sexual assault by a female attendee. The garda identified himself as a garda and removed his brother.

He was found in breach of discipline and reprimanded by the Garda Commissioner.

Common complaints

The most common complaint related to neglect of duty, this category includes misconduct such as failure to investigate a road traffic collision and failure to respond to public complaints.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) annual report showed that 58% of all complaints received in 2024 were admissible, and the majority of investigations opened by the body related to criminal misconduct (46%).

The watchdog also received 37 referrals for cases where it appeared a member of the An Garda Síochána may have contributed to the death of or serious harm of another person.

GSOC was an independent statutory agency set up in 2007 to deal with complaints of misconduct by members of An Garda Síochána. This is the final report of the body as it was succeeded by Fiosrú in April.

In 2024 GSOC submitted 67 files to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). 11 public interest investigations were opened and 88 sanctions were imposed by the Garda Commissioner following complaints.

The second most common complaint received was for non-fatal offences, for example, assault, followed by abuse of authority.

Cases

One case investigated by GSOC included a report that a member of the public had been assaulted while in garda custody by a sergeant not involved in their arrest. A junior garda alleged she was instructed by their sergeant to create a false record of the incident, the member later amended the entry and detailed the correct version of events.

The Sergeant entered a not guilty plea to the two charges but was found guilty by a District Court Judge and convicted on both charges. The district judge imposed a sentence of 80 hours of community service.

Another case of garda misconduct included in the report was that An Garda Síochána failed to investigate a report of coercive control due to the complainants gender. The garda involved was found in breach of discipline in relation to three counts of neglect of duty and received a warning.

Another Garda was found guilty in a district court of punching a member of the public in the head repeatedly while off-duty.

The Detective Garda pleaded not guilty to the charges but was convicted on one count of Assault Contrary to Section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. To avoid prison, they had to enter a bond of €500 with five conditions attached that included a payment of €5,000 to the victim.