ANALYSIS:The true extent of Garda corruption and misconduct will soon emerge, writes Conor Lally
THE LATEST report from the Morris tribunal makes for depressingly familiar reading. All of the issues before the tribunal stemmed from the botched investigation into the death of Richie Barron in Raphoe, Co Donegal, in October, 1996.
Gardaí became fixated on the theory that he had been murdered even though, after more thorough investigation, it emerged he had died in a road traffic collision.
To add to that already woeful mistake some individual Garda members concluded that Frank McBrearty jnr and his cousin Mark McConnell had murdered the cattle dealer.
Mr Justice Frederick Morris noted, almost comically, that that suspicion had its origins in rumours among people at Mr Barron's wake. From that point evidence suggesting anything to the contrary was simply ignored. When information needed to advance the thesis failed to emerge it was simply fabricated.
A large number of people were unlawfully arrested and homes were unlawfully searched. This was done on the basis of information that at least some members of the force knew to be untrue.
When arrests were executed some of those detained were mistreated, verbally and physically. Some of those in authority did nothing to rein in their charges. Many other more junior members were either complicit in wrongdoing or failed to speak out.
When matters were first investigated by gardaí those asking questions were stonewalled as members closed ranks. And when all of the facts ended up before a tribunal of inquiry, many Garda members were less than forthcoming. Others told lies.
All of this has been established beyond doubt in the six reports published by Mr Justice Frederick Morris. The latest report published yesterday will have nowhere near the impact of his earlier volumes.
The reason for this is that the picture has moved on somewhat since the first report was published four years ago.
Former minister for justice Michael McDowell, to his immense credit, set about tackling head-on the issues identified by the tribunal.
The Garda Ombudsman Commission was established. It has been running for exactly 12 months and represents the first agency in the history of the State to use independent investigators to probe complaints against members of the force.
The Garda Inspectorate has also been introduced to identify and recommend the direction of change needed across the force.
The new office of Confidential Recipient has also been established with Brian McCarthy, former secretary general to President Mary McAleese, filling that post. He will receive confidential reports from Garda whistleblowers who want to report corruption.
While the inspectorate undoubtedly has a significant role to play in the development of An Garda Síochána it is the other two new bodies that have most potential to clean up Garda corruption.
How widespread corruption is has not yet been established. But a more accurate picture will soon emerge.
The Ombudsman Commission is investigating 750 allegations of criminal wrongdoing by Garda members, all received in its first year.
We do not know how many of these will be proven because none have yet been concluded.
But in its second year of operation many of its findings will be published and the force will be subjected to unprecedented warts-and-all scrutiny.
It would be interesting to know how far the Donegal corruption would have spread if the McBreartys and others had been able to report complaints to the Ombudsman Commission in the early stages. Over time the number and nature of complaints received by the commission will also offer an unprecedented insight into the workings of the Garda. This, along with the commission's powers to search, arrest and question gardaí will mean rogue members will no longer have any hiding place.
The confidential recipient's office will also offer junior members, who may have felt vulnerable before, an opportunity to blow the whistle on corruption. How often it is used and what emerges from it will also tell us much about An Garda Síochána.
The Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy has embraced the Ombudsman Commission saying disciplined gardaí have nothing to fear from it. He has said the vast majority of gardaí are ethical and do not abuse their powers. That opinion will be tested by the new post-Morris regulatory regime.