The number of suspensions from An Garda Síochána has halved this year, with a notable drop in the number of Garda members on suspension in the last month. The latest trends may suggest a tougher approach to discipline in the force under Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has had an impact, though sources said it was too soon to determine precisely why fewer suspensions arose this year.
New figures show 18 Garda members had been suspended to the end of October, which would reach 22 if trends continued to year end. This compares with 44 suspensions last year and 45 in 2021. The number of Garda members suspended has also fallen to its lowest level for more than a year.
On October 27th, some 108 suspensions were active, compared to 118 at the end of September. The current figure is at its lowest since March 2022 and lower than the peak earlier this year of 121. However, the number of Garda members suspended remains much higher compared to the period before Mr Harris was appointed commissioner in September 2018.
At the end of 2016 and 2017, some 27 and 28 Garda suspensions were active respectively. By the end of 2018, just four months into Mr Harris’s term as commissioner, that had increased to 37 and has steadily grown since then, before the more recent drop.
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When asked why suspensions had begun to decrease this year after almost five years of growth, Garda Headquarters said the numbers could “fluctuate over a year for a number of reasons”. These included “individual suspensions being reviewed and lifted, retirements or resignations of those suspended, and overall adherence to the standards expected of gardaí”. It added, “the vast, vast majority of gardaí adhere to those standards on a daily basis”.
The Garda’s response added the 108 current suspensions arose after a wide variety of allegations were made against Garda members. These included “alleged serious criminal and conduct matters including corruption, excessive use of force in the course of their duties, assaults causing harm, sexual assaults, harassment, coercive control and misappropriation of data”.
Other Garda members were suspended pending the investigation of “road traffic matters including alleged drink-driving and dangerous driving offences”. Before deciding a Garda member should be suspended, pending the investigation of allegations made, the force considered the “nature and seriousness” of the allegations made as well as “public confidence and reputational damage” and the “integrity and impact of an ongoing investigation”.
The commissioner has been at odds this year with the Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents about 11,000 rank and file gardaí in a 14,000-strong force, over rosters. While threatened industrial action was avoided by a compromise, GRA members earlier voted no confidence in the commissioner by a majority of almost 99 per cent.
One of the GRA’s strongest criticisms of the commissioner was that he was too quick to suspend Garda members accused of wrongdoing. However, the lower number of suspensions had begun earlier in the year, before the dispute between the association and commissioner worsened.
