This year has been a tough one for An Garda Síochána. Report after report has criticised systemic flaws in our police service with regard to crime prevention, detection, investigation and victim support.
The Garda Inspectorate Report identified serious “systematic” flaws and deficiencies in almost all aspects of Irish policing.
Other reports, such as the Guerin report, corroborate a culture of organisational secrecy and a subordination of the public interest to internal loyalties. Collectively, the various reports, enquiries and investigations into the Garda paint a picture of an organisation in crisis with regard to its infrastructure, equipment, skill-sets and workplace culture.
In short, the Garda needs root and branch reform with significant investment in order to re-imagine its relationship with the public.
While much of this re-invigoration will reside in information technology facilitating intelligence-led policing along with sorely needed investment in vehicles and other equipment – there is a requirement to seriously challenge the dysfunctional organisational culture.
This will require an investment in the human capital of the organisation – namely, the majority of police men and women who are identified in the Garda Inspectorate Report as “highly motivated” and “dedicated” gardaí.
A starting point for this investment must lie within its education structures and within the organisation of ongoing professional development for talented gardaí.
In this regard, the Garda College in Templemore is not fit for such a purpose.
The Garda Inspectorate Report contains a crucial annex titled, “Addendum to Crime Investigation Report: Guerin Report” which contains an executive summary consolidating criticism of the foundation, training and education regime provided by the Garda College.
Inadequate
It observes that the training of probationer gardaí is inadequate.
In total, the inspectorate estimated that only 25 per cent of available time was spent on operational policing and criminal investigation, less than the time spent on Irish language skills, physical exercise and studying.
The Garda Inspectorate Report recommends that the foundation education and training of student gardaí be radically configured.
In my view, the transformation of Garda education required for a 21st century police service can only take place in partnership with a third level institution such as Dublin Institute of Technology.
Cultural hothouse
In other words, student gardaí should no longer be trained in isolation within the Garda College in Templemore.
They should no longer be educated far from the public eye in the organisational and cultural “hothouse” that is Templemore.
They should be integrated as student gardaí on a third level campus – such as for example, the Grangegorman Campus of DIT.
The Garda Inspectorate Report, along with recent reports on best practice within policing education published by the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit in Vienna (2009) and the EU’s own study “Survey on European Police Education” (2010) identify key areas that ought to comprise the core curriculum of EU “National Police Training Institutes”.
These include subjects such as values, ethics and law, human rights, diversity, information technology, communications, along with forensics and financial and accountancy skills.
A third level institution such as DIT, with world class expertise in law, forensic science, social work, finance, accounting, communication, information technology and personnel management would be ideally placed to facilitate such training and education.
While the Chief Superintendent of the Garda College would still be the primary driver of this foundation training, student gardaí would receive their ethical, professional and intellectual formation alongside their civilian peers.
This is a far healthier model for police education and would immediately alleviate the toxic us and them culture identified within the reports and investigations of 2014.
Student gardaí would continue to do their further physical training and crime-scene training in the pre-existing crime training faculty in Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park.
Critically however, they would pursue their Level 8 FETAC degree in policing on a modern, vibrant campus such as DIT’s new Grangegorman one. Middle-ranking and senior gardaí could also pursue their Level 9 and 10 postgraduate degrees within a third level setting such as DIT as part of their promotion and progression as policing professionals.
Such a transformation in Garda education would in turn lead to a positive transformation of the human capital and workplace culture of a police service that would be fit for purpose for 21st Century policing.
Dr Tom Clonan is a security analyst and a retired Army officer. He lectures in the School of Media, DIT. The views expressed in this article are personal and do not represent those of DIT.