State Solicitors to make call on criminal prosecutions
In a radical shake-up, the decision to prosecute crimes could be taken away from garda铆 and given to an expanded State Solicitor team, or newly-created State prosecution service.
The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland report, published on 18 September, insists on a binary approach to police investigation and criminal prosecution, which it believes are two separate jobs, as is the case in comparable jurisdictions.
It calls for the immediate cessation of police prosecutions in court because garda铆 鈥渁re not trained to the level of the opposing defence lawyer鈥.
It says current practice is 鈥渆normously wasteful鈥 of policing resources and takes garda铆 away from their core duties. Switching out time-intensive prosecution duties will massively free up policing resources, the report says.
It also suggests that the criminal justice system should have more distance between the police and the courts.
The Law Society has broadly welcomed the report, after contributing extensively to the consultation process.
The Society鈥檚 submission urges greater clarity and simplification around policing oversight, pointing out that there are currently four bodies charged with this work.
鈥淯nderstanding the parameters of the role of each of these bodies in policing oversight is not a simple process,鈥 the submission points out.
On governance, the Policing Authority and the Garda Inspectorate would merge into a new Policing and Community Safety Oversight Commission.
鈥楽ystem not working'
Chairman of the Law Society鈥檚 Criminal Law Committee Robert Purcell says that the system is not working as it currently operates.
Garda oversight has been the subject of debate and legislation for the 15 years he says, but it is difficult to know whether the proposed structural reform and amalgamation will be an improvement. 鈥淭hese proposals require further elaboration,鈥 he pointed out.
The report suggests that the Department of Justice and Equality should focus on policy direction, rather than day-to-day management, and there should be more structured engagement with the Oireachtas Joint Committee.
The Garda S铆och谩na Ombudsman Commission could get a new name and a new remit to copper-fasten its independence and deliver an advanced police complaints system.
It should carry out all serious investigations independently, the report says, so that police will no longer investigate themselves.
A major theme of the report is that policing should be seen as a profession, with consequent rigorous training and development standards 鈥 a point that has its origins in the Law Society鈥檚 submission.
Improved garda training would be run in partnership with higher education institutions, but graduate entrants would spend less time at the training college in Templemore.
All serving members would be encouraged to reach 鈥榣evel eight鈥 honours degree level (equivalent to a university degree).
Law Society recommendations
The Law Society has welcomed the adoption of some of its key recommendations, including:
- Mandatory continuous professional development,
- Codification of policing powers, vis-脿-vis detention and arrest. However, the Society is disappointed that the role of solicitors in this important area is not expressly provided for in the report,
- Community policing and the value of restorative justice initiatives 鈥 both championed by the Law Society,
- A broader definition of restorative justice, beyond a youth justice strategy, is urged,
- A digital policing innovation centre and speedier adoption of technology,
- A human-rights-based approach will give legal practitioners and citizens a higher degree of confidence in the transparency and accountability of such an integral public service.
Commission chair Kathleen O鈥橳oole, a former head of the Garda Inspectorate, has promised an 鈥渆thical police force鈥, and Robert Purcell welcomes the report鈥檚 mainstreaming of human rights.
Human rights training will be the starting point for every recruit, the report promises.
Purcell also welcomes the move to take away prosecution decisions from An Garda S铆och谩na: 鈥淭his will assist in ensuring independence in that process,鈥 he said.
He added that the recommendation that powers of arrest, search and detention be codified by legislation, with codes of practice embedded, should also include access to a lawyer.
The Law Society submission pointed to an 鈥渁larmingly low鈥 rate of seven to eight per cent of police interviews being attended by solicitors. It attributes the exceptionally low threshold for legal-aid eligibility as one of the underlying factors.
The report also believes that garda铆 should no longer attend at inquests because they are untrained for the task 鈥 this move towards general reform of inquests has also been welcomed by the Law Society鈥檚 Criminal Law Committee.
And, in future, deaths in garda custody would be subject to a mandatory inquest.
The commission, chaired by US-born policewoman Kathleen O鈥橳oole, wants to broaden the definition of policing, while narrowing the job scope of practising members of the force.
It wants immediate action to strip out Garda involvement in court security, remand prisoner transport, summons serving, attendance at minor traffic accidents, processing of passport applications, and the safeguarding of exam papers.
As an alternative, the Courts Service and Prison Service would take up the slack in their relevant areas, while garda immigration duties would also be moved to the Naturalisation and Immigration Service at the Department of Justice and Equality.
Difficult negotiations
The commission鈥檚 report anticipates protracted and difficult negotiations with unions and representative associations to implement these changes.
The Garda Commissioner鈥檚 role would expand to include the control and oversight of all budgetary resources, and the commission envisages a quasi chief executive-style position.
The commissioner would personally select 鈥渁 strong, appropriately qualified leadership team鈥, comprising both sworn and non-sworn personnel.
Governance, oversight and accountability in the force would all be teased out into separate strands.
鈥淭he structure of An Garda S铆och谩na will be flatter with scope for local decision-making, new ideas and innovation,鈥 the report says.
It wants an early roll-out of mobile technology, and a targeted severance package to cull those resistant to reform.
And a higher degree of visibility for garda铆 in the community is front and centre of the new report, with a priority on public service.
Policing will widen to encompass 鈥榟arm prevention鈥 for vulnerable members of society, such as the homeless, elderly, and those with mental-health problems.
The report calls for new legislation to enable this widening-of-policing scope, so that other State agencies can contribute to general safety in the community. It sees a partnership role in policing for businesses, schools and voluntary organisations.
Integrated information-sharing between responsible agencies is described as key, in particular for that small number of families and individuals who take up a disproportionate amount of State resources.
The report specifies out-of-hours communication and co-operation between State agencies as vital.
Finally, the report calls for a new framework for national security, headed by a National Security Coordinator, to pool intelligence and weigh up threats.
The report can be viewed at .