POLICING POLICY IS determined by the Government and applied through the Minister for Justice to the Garda Commissioner. The historical record provides little by way of narrative from successive ministers or commissioners.

The press release sent by ministers on policing matters invariably starts with a self-congratulatory phrase, “The Minister welcomes the Introduction of (Something), which represents a major step forward in protecting the Public and reforming the Gardaí”.

This forgets for a moment that the initiative in question is a product of the minister’s own department, a product of the minister’s own thinking. This latest initiative (whatever it is) has not been handed down in tablets of stone, this press release is the politician spinning the story well in advance of independent analysis. The dopamine-generating words are, New, Reform, Groundbreaking, Radical, Modernise and Independent.

Shadows of the recent past

In 2014 a crisis rocked the Department of Justice and the Garda Síochána. Then minister Alan Shatter resigned from government and Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan retired. The incoming Minister Frances Fitzgerald set in train a series of structural changes and judge-led inquiries which have largely dominated the law and order space since then. One of the big ideas was the formation of the Policing Authority.

Ten years later, this body has been disestablished and will now become part of a newly shining Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA). Over the years it had become a convenient heat shield for the government, and now it has outlived its purpose, but at what cost?

In 2017 a Commission on the Future of Policing was established under the chair of Kathleen O’Toole. It reported in 2018 and puzzled the hell out of the government, which did not know what to do with its recommendations. Slowly and reluctantly, it began to endorse the report, but later tried to reshape it in its own image. A gigantic unwieldy implementation process was put in place which has resulted in the Policing, Security and Public Safety Act 2024 and in the decision to disestablish or modify previous quangos and to invent some new ones. These new proposals are now being brought forth for full implementation in the throes of a General Election, a full six years after the Commission reported. 

An Garda Síochána was certainly out of favour with then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister Charlie Flanagan. It was decided that the next Garda commissioner would not be appointed from the ranks of the force in 2018. A process was put in place to ensure that outcome. That outcome was achieved when the Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI was appointed. 

Garda Síochána in crisis

So all of that worked out fine, well hardly. An Garda Síochána has been gripped with recurring crises almost every year since 2018. There have been bitter internal disputes, a massive vote of no confidence in the commissioner by the rank and file. The policing service to the community has been radically endangered by the introduction of the so-called Policing Model, wrongly claiming that it was the product of the Commission’s recommendations and stoutly refusing to provide an analysis of its benefits in quantifiable terms.

Simply put, the question is, have we got a visible uniform policing service and will one get assistance in real time in the event of an outrage?

There have been many protests country-wide at the incoherence of the structural changes. A typical case involves the joining of the garda divisions of Tipperary and Clare into one operational unit with its HQ in Ennis. A glance at the map will confirm the demographical nonsense of this move. Similar changes have been introduced all over the country. These have been rowed back in some areas, such as the proposal to amalgamate the Donegal and Sligo Leitrim divisions.

The general uniform policing service has suffered immensely, however, because of continued disruption and political misdirection. The public demand, want and need a visible uniform policing presence in their communities. They are badly served by what has transpired. 

That said, there have been some wins and AGS deserves its due on that front. It is an undeniable fact that there have been major successes in the continuing battle with Organised Crime Groups, and it is also a fact that there are thousands of Gardaí who contribute magnificently to providing a policing service.

Political will

The politicians have not grasped the strategic nonsense of the Policing Model, and their observations are usually of the parish pump variety. It is a measure of the relationship between the people and ordinary gardaí that the force still enjoys massive support despite the self-imposed impediments.

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We have now reached a critical moment in Ireland’s policing history, and the next group of politicians who take up power in this country in the coming months would do well to put justice and policing at the top of their priority list. People in this country no longer ‘feel’ safe. Not in Dublin, Cork or Galway. Not in rural Ireland. You can argue the whys and the corresponding data behind that, but what is policing in a State if that public service does not empower its citizens to feel secure and protected?

A recent Dáil query on Garda resources was met with a stock response from the minister which has little reality. This is a mantra which has been relied on by successive governments. There is no evidence of a credible plan to put “Garda boots” on the ground any time soon. Sound-bite responses from the minister of the day simply will not cut it anymore.

Why can’t you just fix what’s broken — please?

John O’Brien is a former Detective Chief Superintendent, in An Garda Síochána. He is formerly head of the International Liaison Protection section in Garda HQ, National Head of Interpol and Europol. He was Divisional Chief Superintendent in the Louth/Meath and Laois/Offaly Divisions. A former Superintendent, Detective Inspector, Uniform Inspector and Sergeant. He is the holder of an MSc in Public Order Studies. He is the author of three books, A Question of Honour, Politics and Policing (2020) and Securing the Irish State (2022). The Troubles Come South 2023.