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An Garda Síochána

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2021

Thursday, 8 July 2021

Questions (325)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

325. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the number of potential homicide cases that currently remain listed as unsolved; if a cold case team reviews evidence in such cases on a regular basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37112/21]

View answer

Written answers

I have contacted An Garda Síochána for the information requested by the Deputy, unfortunately this was not available in time. I will write to the Deputy as soon as this report is to hand.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51
I refer to your Parliamentary Question (No. 325 of 8 July 2021) where you sought: “The number of potential homicide cases that currently remain listed as unsolved; and if a cold case team reviews evidence in such cases on a regular basis.”
As you will recall, I had sought the information you requested from the Garda authorities and undertook to contact you again once the information was to hand. I have received a report from the Garda authorities and the information requested is outlined below.
As you will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the direction and control of An Garda Síochána in accordance with Section 26 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, as amended, and I have no role in this regard in my capacity as Minister for Justice.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT) comes under the command of the Assistant Commissioner, Organised and Serious Crime and the Office of the Detective Chief Superintendent, Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI).
The SCRT is concerned with the review of unresolved historical and current major crime incidents with the primary aim of assisting in identifying new investigative opportunities in a case.
The team is regularly tasked with co-inducting a review of a specific investigation. Such reviews may formulate as a “Full” or “Thematic” review.
In the case of a “Full” review, all aspects of the case concerned are reviewed and assessed accordingly, whereas, in the case of a “Thematic” review, only certain components of the case concerned, such as witnesses, suspects, exhibits are identified for further interrogation with the objective of progressing the case further.
Currently, there is no review process specifically designed to interrogate or assess evidence on a standalone basis, however, it remains that one of the objectives of any review is to assist the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) in bringing the investigation to a successful conclusion by identifying further investigative opportunities and, ultimately, these investigative opportunities may present in whatever form appropriate and lawful.
The Garda authorities advise that they are not in a position to provide a reply on the number of potential homicide cases that currently remain listed as unsolved as the work of the Homicide Investigation Review Team (HIRT) remains on-going and has been completed only for a fixed number of years to date. However, the current cases subject of review can be viewed at the following link:
https://garda.ie/en/about-us/organised-serious-crime/serious-crime-review-team/
In addition, the HIRT was established to review the classification of incidents on PULSE that were not classified as homicides, but may have been incorrectly classified. The Garda HIRT is a multi-disciplinary team led by an Assistant Commissioner and includes experienced detectives up to Chief Superintendent rank as well as Garda staff from the Garda Analysis Service.
The Terms of Reference for the SCRT and HIRT are very different. The teams are independent of each other, and the HIRT has no real function regarding the investigation of unsolved homicides, just the classification of cases. Also the HIRT does not sit under the ambit of the GNBCI.
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