Garda Síochána

According to a recent government report, 3,000 (out of 12,000) members of the force are armed — this includes the Emergency Response Unit and Special Branch as well as the majority of detectives.

Vehicles

The Scott Medal

In 2000, Anne McCabe - widow of Garda Jerry McCabe, who was murdered by the Provisional IRA while it was officially on ceasefire - accepted the Scott Medal for Bravery that had been awarded posthumously to her husband.

History

New Garda recruits salute the President of Ireland, Tostal, 1954

The Civic Guard was formed by the Provisional Government in February 1922 to take over the responsibility of policing the fledgling Irish Free State. It replaced the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the Irish Republican Police. In August 1922 the force accompanied Michael Collins when he met the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin Castle.According to Irish constitutional theory he met the Lord Lieutenant to accept the surrender of Dublin Castle. However, as far as the British government were concerned, the purpose of the meeting was for the Lord Lieutenant to formally appoint Collins as Chairman of the Provisional Government.

The Garda Síochána Act (also known as the Temporary Provisions Act) enacted after the creation of the Irish Free State on the 8 August 1923, provided for the creation of "a force of police to be called and known as 'The Garda Síochána'". Under section 22, The Civic Guard were deemed to have been established under and to be governed by the Act. The law therefore effectively renamed the existing force.

In Dublin, policing remained the responsibility of the capital's own local police force, the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) until 1925. In that year the DMP merged with the Garda Síochána, and since then the Garda has been the only police force in the state now known as the Republic of Ireland.

Garda Commissioners

The first Commissioner, Michael Staines, who was a Pro-Treaty member of Dáil Éireann, held office for only eight months. It was his successors, Eoin O'Duffy and Éamon Broy, who played a central role in the development of the force. Broy had greatly assisted the IRA during the Anglo-Irish War, while serving with the DMP. O'Duffy later became a short-lived political leader of the quasi-fascist Blueshirts before heading to Spain to fight alongside Francisco Franco's Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. Broy's fame grew in the 1990s when he featured in the film Michael Collins, in which it was misleadingly suggested that he had been murdered by the British during the War of Independence, when in reality he lived for decades and headed the Garda Síochána from 1933 to 1938.

One later Commissioner, Edmund Garvey was sacked by the Fianna Fáil government of Jack Lynch in 1978 without reason, other than a claim that the government had lost confidence in him. He won 'unfair dismissal' legal proceedings against the government. The case made its way to the Supreme Court which found the action of the government improper. This outcome required the passing of the Garda Síochána Act, 1979 to retrospectively validate the actions of Garvey's successor since he had become Commissioner. His successor in turn, Patrick McLoughlin, was forced to resign along with his deputy in 1983 over his peripheral involvement in a political scandal.The current commissioner is Noel Conroy.

Allegations against An Garda Síochána

General

• Discourtesy ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}
• Harassment ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}
• Aggressive interrogation techniques ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}
• Perjury ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}
• Confiscating a person's property but using it for their own purposes. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Sallins train robbery

Kerry Babies

Garda Mounted Unit

Several less high profile scandals, for instance the Kerry Babies Tribunal, occurred over the next decade or so which further tarnished the force's reputation.

Frank McBrearty

In the 1990s and early 2000s An Garda Síochána faced a series of allegations, including suggestions of corrupt and dishonest policing in County Donegal (which is the subject of a judicial inquiry, the Morris Tribunal). The Morris Tribunal found that some County Donegal gardaí had invented an IRA informer, made bombs and claimed credit for locating them, and attempted to frame Raphoe publican Frank McBrearty Junior for murder — the latter case was recently settled in a €1.5m settlement with the State.

Eddie Fullerton

Abbeylara shooting

Prime Time 2004

Reclaim the streets' demonstration 2004

Morris Tribunal 2006

The tribunal has expressed concern that recruits are being brought into an undisciplined culture that has the potential to do great damage to them in the longer term.

It has warned that a "terrible and costly" waste of talent will occur if the existing situation continues.

The existing disciplinary code for gardaí is identified as having created a significant problem by being of great assistance to the undisciplined minority. The tribunal has recommended that the Government takes urgent steps to come up with a new simplified code. The Government has stated that it is to introduce a code of discipline for Gardaí.

Gay and Lesbian perception

A report released in July 2006 by gay rights organisation Johnny has found that 86% of people who frequent gay and lesbian establishments feel that the Gardai are not doing enough to tackle reported homophobic crime in Ireland. Furthermore, 80% of those surveyed as part of the report and who suffered a hate attack did not report the crime to the Gardai. The main reasons cited for not reporting the attack were the fear of a homophobic response, felt no action would be taken, difficulty talking to the Gardai and fear of being judged, previous reports of attacks were not followed up, previous reports were laughed at or greeted with total indifference, didn't feel the police would do anything about it or be sensitive to the rights of members of the LGBT community. 36% of victims did not report their attack because they had zero confidence in the Gardai while 30% were not aware of the availability of gay and lesbian liasion officers. The report concluded that all Gardai should be sent for training in anti-homophobia and hetrosexism training. [[http://www.gayhealthnetwork.ie/folder/web/pdf/hatecrimereport.pdf]]

Garda Inspectorate

A Garda Inspectorate has been established as provided for in the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

The objective of the Inspectorate, which is independent in its functions, is to ensure that the resources available to the Garda Síochána are used so as to achieve and maintain the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in its operation and administration, as measured by reference to the best standards of comparable police services.

In accordance with Section 115 of the Garda Síochána Act, the Inspectorate shall consist of 3 members, to be appointed by the Irish Government. The functions of the Inspectorate, inter alia, are as follows:

• carry out, at the request or with the consent of the Minister, inspections or inquiries in relation to any particular aspects of the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána,
• submit to the Minister (1) a report on those inspections or inquiries, and (2) if required by the Minister, a report on the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána during a specified period and on any significant developments in that regard during that period, and any such reports will contain recommendations for any action that the Inspectorate considers necessary.
• provide advice to the Minister with regard to best policing practice.

Garda Ombudsman Commission

The Garda Ombudsman Commission is empowered to:

• Directly and independently investigate complaints against members of the Garda Siochána
• Investigate any matter, even where no complaint has been made, where it appears that a Garda may have committed an offence or behaved in a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings
• Investigate any practise, policy or procedure of the Garda Síochána with a view to reducing the incidence of related complaints

The Members of the Garda Ombudsman Commission are

Mr. Justice Kevin Haugh, a Judge of the High Court is Chairman of the Commission. The other Members are Ms Carmel Foley, formerly the Director of Consumer Affairs and Mr Conor Brady, former Editor of The Irish Times and author of a book on the history of the Garda.

Garda Reserve

The Garda Siochana Act 2005 provides for the establishment of a Garda Siochána Reserve, consisting or 4,000 persons, to assist the Force in performing its functions. Its purpose is to supplement the work of members of the Garda Siochána. The first 900 recruits to the Reserve are to expected be in place by September 2006. They will carry out duties defined by the Garda Commissioner and sanctioned by the Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform.

The Garda Reserve is intended to be a source of local strength and knowledge. Reserve members will be given very carefully selected powers and duties; they will be properly trained for whatever they are asked to do, and they will always work under the supervision of regular members of the Force

Policing abroad

Members of An Garda Síochána also serve in the Embassies of Ireland in London, The Hague, Madrid and Paris. Members are also seconded to Europol in The Hague, Holland and Interpol in Lyon, France. There are also many members working directly for UN and European agencies such as the War Crimes Tribunal.

Sellafield nuclear facility

References