Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2012
583 Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of complaints received by the Garda Ombudsman during each of the last four years regarding use of less lethal weapons by gardaí broken down by type of weapon in tabular form; and the number of these complaints brought by children. [20112/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra584 Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of complaints received by the Garda Ombudsman during each of the last four years alleging non-fatal offences or assaults committed by members of An Garda Síochána; the number of criminal investigations which resulted from these complaints; the number of convictions resulting from these complaints; the number of these complaints brought by children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20113/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 583 and 584 together.
As the Deputy is aware, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is an independent statutory body. The Ombudsman Commission submits an annual report to me each year relating to its activities in the immediately preceding year, in accordance with section 80 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. The reports from the last four years provide the following statistics:
|
Year |
No. of complaints |
Percentage of complaints alleging non-fatal offence |
|
2008 |
2,681 |
13% |
|
2009 |
2,097 |
15% |
|
2010 |
2,258 |
11% |
|
2011 |
2,275 |
11% |
I am informed that the number of complaints made by persons under the age of 18 alleging non-fatal offences during each of the last four years was as follows:
|
Year |
No. under 18 |
|
2008 |
33 |
|
2009 |
26 |
|
2010 |
15 |
|
2011 |
15 |
I have also been informed that GSOC has conducted 1,178 criminal investigations arising from these complaints, in accordance with section 98 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. Nine garda members, to-date, have been convicted of assault following GSOC investigation.
Of the admissible complaints received from 2008 to 2011 the number of allegations involving the use of less lethal weapons is shown in the table below:
|
Weapon/Year |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
Grand Total |
|
Asp |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
Baton |
69 |
72 |
88 |
57 |
286 |
|
Baton & OC Spray |
0 |
0 |
10 |
18 |
28 |
|
Baton & Taser |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
OC Spray |
1 |
6 |
42 |
42 |
91 |
|
OC Spray & Asp & Baton |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Taser |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
6 |
|
Grand Total |
71 |
80 |
143 |
122 |
416 |
|
Complaints Aged 17 and under. |
2 |
1 |
5 |
6 |
14 |
