Two days after Deputy Commissioner Justin Kelly was confirmed as successor to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris a fresh policing controversy erupted. A review of roads policing found a significant minority of frontline gardaí were uninterested in performing their duties. Indeed, they had a “blatant disregard” for their jobs, often to the point of hostility.
The report is yet to be published, but when the detail of the poor performance and belligerence of the problematic gardaí is laid bare, the controversy will only intensify. The episode is a timely lesson for Kelly as he prepares to take over as Garda commissioner on September 1st, when Harris resigns after seven years.
Policing is complex, often problematic, and the next controversy is never too far away. Even if the vast majority of Garda members are committed and hardworking, things will go wrong. Docile, even corrupt, gardaí will create significant problems with the capacity to undermine the force in the eyes of the public.
Shocking as the new roads policing revelations are, they have emerged because Garda Headquarters commissioned consultants to carry out a review after receiving claims in an anonymous letter from a Garda whistleblower. It is reassuring that Garda Headquarters was willing to unearth that incompetence and poor service, even if the details are stark. The continuation of that approach, being willing to proactively address problem areas in the force, must be one of Kelly’s top priorities. This is a cultural approach he must lead and be seen to lead.
RM Block
The Dubliner seems like a formidable policeman, with an impressive record from frontline uniform duties in some very challenging parts of Dublin to leading teams of specialist sex crime investigators. He also has experience leading some of the Garda’s special units and was head of the organised and serious crime branch of the force.
Though the fight against the gangs must continue, there is evidence from several sources – academia, NGOs and the Garda itself – that domestic and sexual violence is being perpetrated in the Republic at a scale we are only beginning to face up to. Victims, mostly women, are being beaten and terrorised in their homes by controlling men. Harris said this week that violent pornography had become so “normalised” that sexual offenders were mimicking extreme behaviour in their attacks.
As he comes to the job, Kelly is best known for his high profile senior management role in tackling the crime gangs and cartels that run Irish organised crime. This work must go on. However, with the gun feuds having dissipated over the last decade, the Garda must also refocus.
Tackling the physical, sexual and psychological violence being inflicted on vulnerable victims across Irish society – most of it waged by men on women – must be a key part of this.
