Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 July 2017
498. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate's 2014 crime investigation report that have been implemented, partially implemented and not yet implemented, in tabular form. [35593/17]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Garda Síochána Inspectorate was established in July, 2006 under Part 5 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. The role of the Inspectorate is to promote efficiency and effectiveness in the operation and administration of the Garda Síochána. The Inspectorate undertakes analysis of policies and procedures in the Garda Síochána and benchmarks them against the best practices and standards of comparable police services. While the Garda Inspectorate has no statutory responsibility for the monitoring of the implementation of recommendations made in its reports, a process to do so was established with the Garda Síochána in 2008 which resulted in the publication of status implementation update reports twice a year on the Inspectorate’s website. The last such regular update was published in November 2013 when, I understand, the process was interrupted due to pressure of work. However, the Inspectorate and the Garda Síochána are now working towards the production, in tabular form, of a document which will indicate the position regarding the implementation of recommendations contained in a number of Inspectorate reports up to and including the Crime Investigation report. Once completed, the results will be published on the Inspectorate’s website. With regard to the Garda Inspectorate Report on Crime Investigation 2014, I have been advised by the Garda authorities that the Garda Modernisation and Renewal Programme 2016-2021 will address many of the detailed recommendations highlighted in the Garda Inspectorate's 2014 Report on Crime Investigation. The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner has established a Strategic Transformation Office to plan and oversee the implementation of the Garda Modernisation and Renewal Programme and oversee the work to address many of the recommendations made by the Inspectorate in its report on Crime Investigation, including those relating to the recording and classification of crime. Taking account of the number and complexity of many of the recommendations in the report, full implementation is being pursued on a phased basis. I regret that the table requested by the Deputy is not readily available in the format he is seeking, however, I have requested some additional information from An Garda Síochána in relation to the Report and I will contact the Deputy again when this information is to hand. Notwithstanding the above, I am informed that important strategic issues currently being addressed by An Garda Síochána in the context of the Report include:
- A new Performance Accountability and Learning Framework, (and IT system);
- A Control Room Strategy to provide for centralised handling of all requests for service from the public, linked to a modern Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system;
- Improved arrangements for Rosters and Duty Management; and
- Enhancements to Incident Management, Investigation Management and Victim Engagement.
As the Deputy will be aware, the majority of recommendations arising from this Report fall to An Garda Síochána to examine and implement in the first instance. However, there are a small number of these recommendations relevant to my Department for which work has been ongoing since the publication of the Report. Several of these are being advanced under the ambit of the Criminal Justice Strategic Committee (CJSC), which was founded in 2015 to drive enhanced co-operation and collaborative change across the criminal justice sector. The establishment of the CJSC itself in fact implements one of the recommendations of the Inspectorate report on Crime Investigation.
The CJSC is chaired by the Secretary General of my Department and includes the Heads of the various executive bodies across the Criminal Justice sector, including An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Policing Authority. The committee is also attended by members of my Department’s Management Board with responsibilities in the criminal justice area. The CJSC oversees an ongoing work programme of initiatives to improve the exchange of information, expertise and ideas across the justice sector, and to identify and accelerate reforms that require structured inter-agency co-operation. Several of these initiatives specifically address recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate’s Report. In addition, yesterday I published the report of the CSO-led Expert Group on Crime Statistics, which was established in 2014 on foot of the Garda Inspectorate Report on Crime Investigation. This report specifically addresses six recommendations in the Garda Inspectorate Report and directly relates to the compilation of crime statistics. It should also be noted that the statutory position regarding the monitoring of the implementation of recommendations made in Inspectorate reports has changed. Section 117(A) of the Garda Síochána Act provides for a role for the Policing Authority in monitoring the measures taken by the Garda Síochána to implement the recommendations contained in reports prepared by the Inspectorate, and in line with this provision the Authority has been requested to monitor the implementation of the 2015 Garda Inspectorate report 'Changing Policing in Ireland'.
