GARDA SERGEANTS and inspectors are calling for tighter controls for criminals on the sex offenders’ register to enable gardaí to more closely monitor them.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (Agsi) will use its three-day annual conference in Co Wexford to put forward ideas for a tighter regime to keep track of offenders who have been released from prison but remain on the sex offenders’ register.
Agsi wants changes to the Sex Offenders Act 2001 that would compel offenders to supply additional information about themselves – including photographs – on paperwork they are currently required to complete when registering with gardaí after their release.
The association wants offenders to be risk-assessed before release, with those deemed at high or moderate risk of re-offending to be required to update their personal information on file with the Garda much more often than they do now.
The sergeants and inspectors also believe it is unsatisfactory that, under current legislation, a sex offender can log their address and other personal details with gardaí at any divisional or district Garda station within the State, irrespective of where they reside.
Agsi wants the law changed so that sex offenders must have that interaction with gardaí in the main Garda station in the area where they are living.
The association’s annual conference begins this evening in Ballymoney, Co Wexford. Minister for Justice and Defence Alan Shatter is due to address delegates during this evening’s opening session.
The role of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc), which investigates all complaints made about gardaí, is down for debate at the conference, with a number of delegates set to speak in opposition to recent proposals by senior Gsoc officials.
A recent interview with The Irish Times by new Gsoc chairman Simon O’Brien and fellow new commission member Kieran FitzGerald has been seen as contentious by many Garda members and is likely to provoke debate among delegates.
Both men suggested that in order to free up Gsoc staff’s time to investigate only very serious complaints against gardaí, more minor investigations could be diverted to the Garda to be investigated internally.
However, Agsi believes too much of its members’ time is already taken up investigating some of the complaints currently referred by Gsoc to the Garda. It wants those levels of referrals reduced rather than increased, as Gsoc is pressing for.
Delegates are also set to debate recent cost-cutting measures across the force, including the closure of Garda stations.
Proposals to reduce the number of members licensed to use firearms, and staffing levels as the strength of the force is being reduced to cut the Garda’s overall payroll, are also down for debate.
Agsi will also focus on the possible creation of a more formal set of guidelines for the Garda’s management of witnesses during criminal trials, when witnesses might be intimidated by those on trial or their associates.
The association wants new procedures whereby gardaí suffering from mental health issues or distress after being involved in serious incidents on duty would be given additional professional support.
Specifically, Agsi wants gardaí involved in a serious incident to receive that professional support before they are interviewed by anyone investigating the incident, including Gsoc or fellow Garda members.
