The Director of Public Prosecutions was considering 21 complaints against gardai at the end of last year, according to the annual report of the Garda Complaints Board.
Complaints to the board increased by 7 per cent last year compared to 1996, according to the report. The largest increase, 10 per cent, was recorded outside the Dublin area, with an increase of 5 per cent in the six Dublin divisions.
The report criticises the obligation to refer allegations of criminal offence to the DPP as a "waste of public resources". Last year 169 complaints were referred to the DPP, who recommended prosecution in three cases. The District Court dismissed two of the cases and the DPP withdrew the charge in the third.
One garda had a pay reduction of £150 imposed after being found in breach of discipline by the board's Complaints Tribunal, which investigates allegations of serious breaches of discipline. The tribunal heard seven cases in 1997. It made a final decision in just three, two of which cleared the gardai involved, and the third resulted in the £150 fine.
More than 1,290 complaints were made to the board last year, 52 per cent of them at Garda stations. Forty one per cent were made either in person or by letter to the board and seven per cent were made in writing to the Garda Commissioner. The number of complaints made about gardai, about 25 per week last year, has almost doubled since 1990, when 746 complaints were made.
Twenty-six complaints were resolved informally, compared to 17 in 1996. The report notes that the Donegal division recorded a "marked increase" in complaints, with 87 in 1997, compared to 36 the year before. The figure of 87 "includes 35 complaints about related incidents made by a group of people", the report says.
More than 560, or 43 per cent of the 1,291 complaints made in 1997 were deemed "not admissible" by the board and 60 were withdrawn. A further 142 were withdrawn after an investigation had started. More than 500 complaints were carried forward to be dealt with this year.
"We have seen no evidence in any of the complaints withdrawn that inappropriate Garda pressure was brought, either directly or indirectly, in order to secure the withdrawal," the report says.
The complaint has to be made by a member of the public who witnessed or was "directly affected" by the conduct alleged. That conduct must constitute a criminal offence, or a "breach of discipline" and must have happened within six months of the complaints being made. Complaints can also be dismissed if they are considered by the board to be "frivolous or vexatious".
Forty-two per cent of the 659 complaints turned down by the chief executive of the board last year were classified as frivolous or vexatious. A further 92 cases - or 17 per cent of the complaints referred to the board - were turned down by the board after being passed to it by the chief executive.
Two-thirds of the allegations ruled inadmissible involved "abuse of authority". Fourteen per cent related to "discourtesy" and 9 per cent to "discreditable conduct".
The Garda Representative Association, which represents rank-and-file gardai, has criticised "merry-go-round" disciplinary procedures in its staff magazine, Garda Review. The editorial says gardai who are found not guilty in the courts "will also face the rigours of disciplinary procedures as a result of their appearing in court in the first place".
