The new Garda Ombudsman Commission is to recruit a team of 45 investigators and other officials to investigate complaints against members of the Garda and to resolve more minor cases through mediation, it has emerged.
The number of staff being recruited compares favourably with the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, where the investigation process is run by 60 members. That figure includes a small number of administrative staff, according to a spokesman in Belfast.
The staffing numbers are contained in tender documents released by the new Garda Ombudsman Commission and represent the first insight into its staffing levels, training and operational functions.
Twenty-seven investigating officers will be appointed to exclusively conduct investigations. This includes six senior investigating officers, 12 investigating officers and nine assistant investigating officers.
All investigators recruited will be expected to have experience in "police work and/or other forms of investigative training", according to documents on the Government's etenders.ie website seeking expressions of interest from training suppliers.
All investigators will undergo 40 days of training over a nine-week period beginning next January. It is envisaged that the investigation of complaints will begin at the beginning of next April. This is in line with expectations.
Fifteen days' training will be given over to training in the "search for truth". This module will involve evidence-gathering techniques, handling witnesses and suspects and presenting evidence.
The next, most substantial module will run for eight days. It will involve an "overview of the legal/Garda/cultural/social environment".
Investigators will also be given training in miscarriages of justice, critical incident management and a range of briefings on legislation relating to the workings of the Garda.
Eighteen case workers will also be appointed. These will register and update complaints and will make recommendations as to suitable courses of action to expeditiously bring complaints to a conclusion.
These will also be responsible for the operation of a less formal mediation environment through which some complaints will be dealt with. Case workers will have prior experience in "customer-based" operations.
They will undergo 25 days' training, covering a range of issues including truth-finding; interview techniques; information technology; and understanding the legal and Garda environment.
The Garda Ombudsman Commission is a three-person body chaired by Mr Justice Kevin Haugh. The other members are former Irish Times editor Conor Brady and former director of consumer affairs Carmel Foley.
It will replace the Garda Complaints Board, which currently investigates complaints against members of the Garda.
The current system has been strongly criticised because it uses members of the force to investigate other members against whom complaints are made.
The ombudsman commission's investigators will be independent of the force.
They will also have the power to investigate matters even when no complaint has been made.
The new body has also been charged with investigating any practices or procedures within the force which regularly give rise to complaints.
