The group representing Garda sergeants and inspectors has criticised the record of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, saying he has a legacy after almost seven years of internal disharmony, a recruitment crisis and the stripping of policing manpower and other resources from rural Ireland.
At the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), its president, Declan Higgins, stressed his criticisms of Mr Harris’s record were “not personal”. However, it was “time for reflection and for some hard truths”.
He said problems with recruiting gardaí into the force, and retaining those already serving, had led to “dangerous” changes that had resulted in serious problems in policing in other countries including Britain.
“We have seen a lowering of entry standards, relaxing of vetting procedures and the watering down of educational and physical requirements, all done in the name of boosting recruitment numbers,” he said.
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Lowering standards “does not fix retention” or morale and “doesn’t rebuild pride in the uniform”, but was instead a “short-sighted attempt to put warm bodies into uniforms, instead of creating an organisation that people want to join and stay in”.
Mr Higgins said the Garda was now being run as if the policing it provided were a business rather than a service to the public. Garda members felt they were “being treated as statistics, not professionals”. There was “abysmal or non-existent” professional development or training and a “culture of top-down management with no regard for experience on the ground”.
Increased levels of oversight and “excessive administrative burdens” had conspired with “ever-stretched resources” to put unsustainable pressure on Garda members. Mr Higgins said his members, though they were the Garda’s middle tier of management, also felt ignored as reforms had been rolled out.
“I believe, unfortunately rural areas are not getting the service they use to get, and I don’t believe that’s right,” he told the conference in Killarney, Co Kerry.
However, Mr Harris has defended his record, saying while differences could emerge between Garda Headquarters and the staff association, he believed Agsi shared his commitment to developing the Garda as a world class police force.
While there were concerns within the Garda around new disciplinary regulations recently introduced, and the amalgamation of Garda divisions - under the new operating policing model - these were still under review and modifications could be made if required, with ongoing consultation.
While there had been complaints about the level of oversight and administrative work within the Garda, and around strategy replacing an emphasis on practical day-to-day policing, Mr Harris said governance and oversight were a factor of modern policing.
“We are the scale of a small global organisation... €2.4 billion is our budget this year, of public money. And I have a responsibility to show that money is being well spent with the policing service we provide."
He did not take personally the criticism from Agsi, but denied the claim there was a “top down management structure”.
Indeed, he said under the changes of recent years management functions had been devolved from Garda Headquarters to Garda divisions. This was done as he wanted “local autonomy and a local response to the local policing issues”.
