Uniform ‘smelt of alcohol’ – GSOC report states almost 2,000 complaints were made against Gardaí in 2017

One woman also complained that an on-duty Garda made her feel 'uncomfortable with where the garda had placed his hand'.

Almost 2,000 complaints were made against the members of An Garda Síochána to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) in 2017. 1,949 complaints were received by GSOC last year, a figure which has grown upwards of 10% on the previous year. In all, 4,459 separate allegations were recorded in these complaints. According to the GSOC 2017 Annual Report – submitted in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 – the commission said that 24 of these referrals were of matters where it appears “the conduct of a member of the Garda Síochána may have resulted in the death of, or serious harm to, a person”. Seven of these instances referred to the death of somebody. The GSOC is an independent statutory body charged with overseeing the national police force. Their annual report for 2017 was notoriously late, having been originally scheduled to be published in May of this year. The greatest number of allegations in the country were recorded against gardaí in the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR), as could be expected given the population and police activity in the capital. The highest numbers came from DMR South Central and DMR West, as was also the case in 2016 and 2015. Outside the DMR, Limerick and Cork City respectively were the divisions with the highest number of allegations made against Gardaí in 2017. The number of allegations against Gardaí in Galway, which had the highest number of allegations after DMR West and South Central in 2016, fell significantly in 2017. A number of detailed complaints were described in the disciplinary investigations category – including several which included the misconduct of an on-duty Garda. One complaint regarded a Garda smelling of alcohol on the job, another one saw a Garda forget to record the case of a stolen car and another involved a hit-and-run case where failures by a Garda led to the case being thrown out. A large percentage of the allegations resulted in a discontinuation in the investigation, no breach of the rules found or an allegation being withdrawn. In cases of discontinuation, GSOC said it was often the case that no independent witness could verify either version of events, or the complaint was deemed to be either irksome or frivolous. However, confidence in the Garda Síochána appears to be improving, according to a survey published in the report. High levels of confidence (eight in ten people expressing a lot or some confidence) were expressed in the service’s ability to provide a courteous service, investigate a crime, and respond effectively to requests for assistance in emergency/urgent situations. Confidence in the Garda Síochána’s ability to deal with complaints against Gardaí has increased significantly from the first survey in December 2013 (40% had a lot or some confidence) and then the February 2018 survey (56% had a lot or some confidence).