Government's Response to Serious Crime is Not Enough

Platitudes do not solve crime nor stop the killings.. 

Platitudes will not restore Law & Order nor stop further killings such as those visited on the Dublin City community over the past number of months. Rising crime rates, regular shootings, ( mostly gang-land feuding) and the increasing unease and concern of the community about their own safety and that of their families, inevitably give rise to discussion about the adequacy or otherwise of police response. It would be helpful if the discussion could offer some constructive solutions.

Lack of Resources includes  Professional Leadership and Management

Lack of resources is frequently presented by police spokespersons and the demand for greater training is  added for good measure. More frequently, of late, is the open criticism from low ranking police personnel of the absence of good management and leadership. They claim and correctly so, they are the first-line-defenders and called into  dangerous, complex and life-threatening situations and intervene to protect and preserve life and property without, in many instances being adequately equipped to ensure their own safety.

It is Not all about Numbers

The recent spate of  murders in Dublin,, arising from the feud between the Hutch and Kinehan gang members, again dominates the discussion in the media and, unfortunately, as usual the incessant repetition of platitudes are offered up as meaningful commentary on the situation. One could readily script the discussion, "Lack of Intelligence, More Specialized Units, Lack of Resources,", etc., 

Piling armed, heavily protected, Check-Points and police patrols onto the streets of the Capital  may very well serve as a good PR response but they cannot be sustained and one must question their effectiveness. Take a look at other cities across Europe and elsewhere and you can see police patrol and personnel carriers parked near the main square or other potential flash-points. Typically, they will consist of a Unit Supervisor, a number of heavily-equipped police personnel, police dog, riot shields, helmets, visors and more recently, balaclava masking of personnel. Essentially, groups of police waiting for trouble. This is fundamentally a response methodology and does nothing to prevent disorder or trouble. As we have seen from European Cities all that is needed to counter-act that situation is to come in greater numbers and with greater ferocity.

What you will not see, or very rarely see, is any evidence of normal, day-to-day communication and conversation  between such Units and members of the public. If there needs to be communication it is by way of megaphone and consisting of warnings to desist or disperse

The Nature of Modern Democratic Policing

What is missing in Ireland is a discussion on the broader and more fundamental discussion on the nature of policing in modern, democratic societies. Of their nature, such discussions need to include a a recognition of the need for a planned, structured and determined methodology on reconnecting policing with communities. This cannot be just symbolic gesturing or PR responses to major criminal activity and it's tragic consequences, promising, "The full resources of the State will be made available to bring these culprits to justice,....etc.," Meaningless rubbish. During the following following days the agenda shifts to whatever is the political pressure on the Government and politicians. Until the next time and the file pulled out again and a repetition of the same drone..."All the resources etc, will be made available."

The response requires Courage  and Leadership and must articulate a Vision of the kind of society we wish to create and set out what steps we are willing to take to achieve it. It needs to emphasize and re-enforce our respect for all human life and the Human Rights that support and protect it. It needs to show compassion for the vulnerable and emphasize our commitment as a society to protect all our citizens equally. It needs to show courage and decisiveness and challenge the culture of those individuals, organizations and groups who promote and protect their own self-interest and privilege in maintaining systems and procedures that procrastinate, obfuscate and, candidly, obstruct efforts and progressive achievement of objectives. This applies to all individuals, whether in civil or public service, professional organizations and groups; it includes judges, lawyers,  politicians, police officers, prison officers and their representative groups. It needs to be based on a sense of our shared values and culture and place  truthfulness, honesty, integrity, accountability and transparency high on the list of attributes required and expected from all those engaged in the honourable work of serving our country.

If it were possible to get that kind of response we would move forward, as a society, with a great collective sense of strength and conviction in addressing the very dangerous complicated task of confronting the serious levels of criminal activity currently terrifying our communities.

Quality of Leadership and Management

It is necessary, when drilling down to the basics of the police response, that we first recognize the critical importance of ensuring that we take the necessary steps to equip the service with the right combination of individuals with the requisite education, knowledge, skills, experience and attributes that would enhance the delivery of professional, effective and efficient police services.
It needs to be said that police leadership and the management of highly demanding and skilled police operations cannot be left in the hands of well-intentioned-amateurs. We have been fortunate to have the experienced leadership of the highest quality from Senior Police Officers over the years, but it has been the result of a game of skill or chance, or partly of skill and partly of chance, rather than the targeted,  planned result  of HR and Organizational Development Planning. The Recruitment Process ought to take cognizance of the importance of attracting candidates that can meet the educational expectations and demands of Senior Management and the continuous Management Training and Development Programmes need to be structured to keep pace with the current and future needs of the service. Given that individual members at Garda Rank, daily confront and deal with  a myriad of situations that demand instant legal assessment and judgement and action, for which they,are personally liable, adds a distinct feature to the role of the management of personnel that is unique to the police service.

" A Vagueness Causing Uncertainty.."

It is good to see that Government is conscious of the need to create structures that separate police operations from direct political control, but much remains to be done to ensure that, "Independence" in the management and administration of the service means that. It is still difficult to understand why the newly appointed Police Authority does not have complete control over the selection of the Commissioner and that it remains necessary to submit more than one name to the Government for appointment. Bewildering, one might suggest, if it were not the case that many years ago now, The Hon. Mr Justice Conroy defined the relationship between the Department of Justice and An Garda Siochana in terms of , "A vagueness causing uncertainty." One might ask, "Has much changed since 1969?,

30 Years Behind Contemporaries

The Police Inspectors Report pointed to that fact that An Garda Siochana is some 30 years behind their contemporaries in technological terms. When their is such instant critical comment on individual members for some, perhaps, ill-judged and controversial decisions involving public safety, it is incumbent on the state to ensure that the police are equipped with the latest technological support that enables them to instantly access the criminal record of individuals they encounter so they may take appropriate action at the time and justify to the Court their reasons for opposing bail etc., It would enable a Garda in Cork to instantly access what happened in Cavan yesterday or a few months ago and facilitate a good judgement call on any decision he/she might make.

Personal Accountability 

In most other services, especially the Civil Service, individuals are acting on behalf of some entity above them in the organization and that is frequently the preface of correspondence emanating from their offices. The individual Garda or police officer is not acting on behalf of his Sergeant or Superintendent when exercising, for example, an arrest.  He or she is acting in accordance with their personal understanding at the time of their legal powers and authority and is, accordingly, personally answerable to the Courts for their actions. This particular responsibility is not always understood by the public and indeed, not always fully comprehended by some commentaries in the media. It adds a fundamentally important component that needs to be fully understood and incorporated in all senior management, supervisory and leadership programmes.

Closure of Stations

When the Government introduced the reduction of a significant number of police stations across the Country, part of the justification was that the proliferation was a legacy of British Colonialism and we did not need them. Certainly, there would have been justification for rationalization but the original reason for having so many there, even if it was a colonial practice, was not discussed. The real reason, was, of course, so that the police knew what was happening and going-on in the areas being policed.  This was also part and parcel of the extraordinary success of the unarmed Garda Siochana when it took possession of all of those police stations and established themselves  as the Guardians of the Peace and built their relationships with each town and parish and community in the
Country.

Communication - It is all about Communication

This is the element that needs to be addressed when discussing how to resource the police. Intelligence, is essentially about gathering information. Whether it is done electronically or over-a-pint in the local pub, or at the sporting event or wherever, it is fundamentally based on enabling and encouraging citizens to comfortably communicate with police personnel whom they trust, their concerns about suspicious or criminal activity. All of these elements are critically important, especially relating to "Trust". If the community do not respect the police, they will not willingly approach and divulge confidence to them. So the maintenance of professional conduct and standards is critical. If police officers feel part of an organization that justifiably takes pride in its' function, role and status in society, there will be no need for, "Whistle-blowers". Rather than institutionalizing the concept of,"Whistle-blowing", which seems to be a current vogue, it would be far healthier in an organisational context to instill values of honesty, integrity, accountability, transparency and professional pride.  This would restore an environment which would encourage  individual members to recognize the value, importance and duty to address wrong-doing whether it is within or outside the service and they would have the support of their colleagues when doing so.

What is being suggested here is no magic wand that will instantly correct the reputational damage that has been caused to An Garda Siochana but the majority of studies and commentaries bear witness to a high degree of  residual regard and respect for members of An Garda and positive efforts need to be applied to augment and restore those sentiments.