An Garda Siochana 'secretive'
Thursday December 03 2009
A leading crime and policing academic has clamed An Garda Siochana is one of the most secretive police forces in the liberal western world.
Professor Dermot Walsh told senior gardai and justice experts there was still a lack of transparency despite dramatic reforms over the last few years.
At a conference in the University of Limerick (UL) the criminal law expert said the Gardai had retained an institutional approach to secrecy.
"The Gardai have made significant progress in the last few years in terms of reform but some of these are in danger of being nothing more than paper reforms," Prof Walsh said.
Professor Walsh, who organised the Police Governance and Accountability: Challenges and Outlook, said he had issues with the confidential Garda Code, said he had issues with the confidential Garda Code, how individual garda use their discretion and Freedom of Information which does not apply to the force.
Pointing to the Code, the Professor said: "This is a major tome, a book covering all aspects of the Garda's official duties. It's effectively the bible for the Garda and it is confidential and there's no reason for it to be confidential."
Professor Walsh, director of the Centre for Criminal Justice at UL, said Judge Frederick Morris, who oversaw the tribunal into garda corruption in Donegal, warned of a similar secrecy with rules on informers.
"That was a highly secretive document," he said. "There was no reason why most of it should be confidential. It's of benefit to no-one."
Since Judge Morris documented the corruption and negligence among some officers in Donegal a raft of reforms including a Garda Inspectorate and Ombudsman have been set up.
But Prof Walsh highlighted a human rights audit from 2002 by Ionann Management Consultants which called for the Garda Code to be published. "One of the recommendations was greater transparency in public. They said the code should be published. The Gardai have not done that and continue to maintain the traditional secrecy," he said.
