The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC), today, launched "Human Rights Compliance of An Garda Síochána" a policy statement outlining its recommendations to An Garda Síochána on the pressing reforms needed to become a more human rights compliant police service. While welcoming positive initiatives under way, the IHRC was concerned at the slow pace of progress in key areas of policing.
The policy statement has been significantly informed by IHRC commissioned research, Human Rights and Policing in Ireland: Law Policy and Practice by Professor Dermot Walsh.
The policy statement makes 36 recommendations on:
· Mainstreaming Human Rights in Garda policies and practices
· Human Rights in Training and Development
· Accountability
· Serving the Community
· Rights of Gardaí
The IHRC commends An Garda Síochána and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for important reforms to date which include:
· The Garda Human Rights Action Plan in accordance with the 2004 human rights audit;
· Establishing the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee (SHRAC), with external representation, to advise the Garda Commissioner and Senior Management of An Garda Síochána;
· The introduction of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 which established oversight bodies such as the Garda Inspectorate and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission;
· Efforts to bring a human rights focus to training and development;
· Initiating work on a Garda Code of Ethics that includes human rights standards.
Speaking at the launch Dr Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC said "An Garda Síochána is undergoing significant reforms, including initiatives to make the police service more human rights compliant. We welcome these initiatives and we hope the recommendations in our policy statement will assist to maintain the momentum and consolidate the process of reform. There is much of an urgent nature that remains to be done to make the An Garda Síochána more transparent and accountable in its practices."
Dr Manning continued "All sections of the Garda Code and Garda operational policies and practices should be human rights proofed, and published, with the exception of some security related procedures. Key Garda powers such as arrest, stop, search and questioning should be subject to specific human rights based codes of practice which inform Garda decisions and regulate Garda powers in a transparent and human rights compliant manner. The inclusion of An Garda Síochána within the scope of the Freedom of Information legislation is a further important reform that is required and has been called for by the Information Commissioner. The IHRC strongly supports this view and regards this measure as key to fostering a culture of greater transparency and openness."
Dr Manning added "effective oversight bodies, coupled with transparency and internal regulation, are core mechanisms of accountability. The establishment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman (GSOC) marked a historic step in putting human rights at the centre of Irish policing and GSOC should be sufficiently resourced to carry out its functions effectively."
The IHRC considers that in a period of reform, external independent advice on human rights is essential in tandem with designated management resources. Commissioner Lia O’Hegarty stated "the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee, in which I participate on behalf of the IHRC, is actively advising the Garda Commissioner and Senior Garda management. Prompt action should be taken to implement its proposals on human rights based learning and development, human rights proofing and auditing and on its human rights framework for monitoring the practice and actions of An Garda Síochána."
Commissioner O’Hegarty continued "However more avenues to offer independent advice are needed. The IHRC supports the Morris Tribunal’s recommendation for a national committee to make policy recommendations to Garda management on investigative interviewing and we would go further by recommending that such a model could be replicated to some other areas of operational policing."
Commenting on the vital role management structures play in embedding a culture of human rights in the Gardaí, and welcoming the designation of the Assistant Commissioner for Human Resources as Human Rights Champion, Commissioner Lia O’ Hegarty said "such a Human Rights Champion should as far as possible have a full-time human rights portfolio. Retaining adequate human rights expertise is also essential in ensuring proper human rights proofing of all Garda policies and procedures."
The IHRC considers that training and development are essential to building a culture and ethos of human rights in An Garda Síochána. Mr Éamonn MacAodha, Chief Executive of the IHRC said "while welcoming current human rights training initiatives, the IHRC would like to see human rights standards integrated in all aspects of Garda training and professional development and information relating to the curriculum should be publicly available so that progress can be monitored."
Stressing the importance of ensuring the accountability of the police to the community which they are serving, Mr Mac Aodha continued "meaningful engagement with local communities is essential and any partnership structures that are developed should be transparent and inclusive of the widest range of community groups, particular in communities which have extensive contact with An Garda Síochána."
Ireland is an increasingly diverse society and An Garda Síochána must be at the forefront in countering discriminatory or racist attitudes or behaviour. Dr Manning stated "while Garda diversity training initiatives are welcome, any incidence of racially motivated misconduct should form an explicit disciplinary offence in the Garda Síochána (Disciplinary) Regulations 2007."
Dr Manning concluded, by saying "An Gardaí Síochána should also be reflective of the community at large. The IHRC is concerned that women account for a small percentage of the force (21 per cent) and their proportion decreases further as rank increases. A more coherent and transparent recruitment policy and further targeted action is needed to ensure equality and diversity is achieved."
IHRC Key Recommendations
– Mainstreaming Human Rights in Garda policies and practices
At an operational level An Garda Síochána has wide discretionary powers and the IHRC is concerned that the exercise of these Garda powers is not regulated by transparent and human rights based Garda policies and codes of practice. The reluctance to publish internal Garda operational policies and procedures runs counter to developing an open and transparent police service and falls short of best practice. In addition, as the policies are inaccessible the IHRC is not able to determine if they are human rights compliant.
The IHRC recommends:
- Key areas of policing should be subject to detailed and accessible human rights based codes of practice. Legislation governing Garda powers in key areas of policing should provide the Minister for Justice with the power to issue codes of practice to accompany the statutory Garda powers;
- Effective compliance measures should be incorporated into the codes of practice including: contemporaneous record-keeping by members of the Gardaí when exercising Garda powers. Where appropriate breaches of the code of practice should suffice to trigger the complaints mechanism and/or disciplinary action.
- All sections of the Garda Code (policing manual) and Garda operational policies and procedures, with the exception of some security related procedures, should be published and accessible.
- An Garda Síochána should:
- human rights proof all Garda policies, procedures and practices, retaining adequate human rights expertise to do so;
- be brought within the scope of the Freedom of Information legislation.
– Accountability
The IHRC considers that the establishment of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) was an important step in mainstreaming human rights in Irish policing. The IHRC considers that to be most effective GSOC’s powers, functions and resources should be expanded.
The IHRC recommends:
- GSOC should have power:
- to instigate a review on its own initiative of a practice, policy or procedure of An Garda Síochána;
- to access all Garda Stations on demand in the course of an investigation of a complaint.
- The Irish Government should ratify the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture without delay and ensure that Garda stations are subjected to preventative inspection visits of those detained in Gardacustody on a regular basis by a well resourced and independent National Preventative Mechanism.
– Strengthening Independent Strategic Advice
The Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee, which includes external representation, has played an important role in providing strategic advice to the Garda Commissioner and senior management in An Garda Síochána. The IHRC also endorses the model of a national committee, as recommended in the Morris Tribunal, to formulate and recommend policy to Garda management on investigative interviewing.
The IHRC recommends:
- The valuable work of the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee should continue and be given due regard by An Garda Síochána;
- The model of a national committee on investigative interviewing recommended by the Morris Tribunal could be established and replicated in some other areas of operational policing.
– Making human rights a management priority
The IHRC is concerned that that there continues to be no central management structure whose sole remit is to mainstream and monitor human rights in An Garda Síochána. Human rights are merely one part of a very comprehensive portfolio attached to the Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources.
The IHRC recommends:
- Strengthening the existing human rights infrastructure and to provide the high level Human Rights Champion with a full-time human rights portfolio or, at a minimum, have limited additional competing duties so that most of her or his time is focused on human rights issues.
– Human Rights Training and Development
To build a culture of human rights in An Garda Síochána, the IHRC considers it essential that human rights are an integral to all aspects of training and professional development of the Garda organisation. The IHRC commends the work of the Strategic Human Rights Advisory Committee in this regard.
The IHRC recommends:
- Training on human rights standards should be integral to Garda training and development at both recruit and in-service professional training levels;
- Information relating to Garda teaching materials, curricula and delivery should be publicly available and human rights proofed, retaining adequate human rights expertise to do so.
– Serving the Community
The IHRC welcomes initiatives by the Gardaí to develop community policing, in particular the Joint Policing Committees in local authority areas. Such committees should include representatives from the community that are hard to reach or disadvantaged. The IHRC is concerned that An Garda Síochána has insufficient measures in place to combat racism and discrimination, to promote respect for diversity and create a police service that reflects the composition of Irish society in terms of gender, ethnicity and religious belief.
The IHRC recommends:
- Joint Policing Committees should include a broad range of community representatives, in particular from areas that experience high levels of contact with the police. There should be transparency in the selection process of community representatives;
- Racist behaviour should be an explicit disciplinary offence in the Garda Síochána (Disciplinary) Regulations 2007;
- A reliable, certified and good quality interpretation service should be available to people who come in contact with the Gardaí and are unable to communicate effectively in the English language and for people with hearing or speech impairments;
- Further action and a targeted strategy to encourage recruitment, retention and progression of a more diverse Garda service are required.
– Rights of Gardaí – Safety, Recruitment and Promotions
It is important to note that Gardaí enjoy the same human rights as other people in the State including their personal safety. In relation to Garda promotion, the IHRC welcomes the measures taken by An Garda Síochána to link human rights competence to career promotion. The IHRC is concerned that female members of the Gardaí still account for a relatively small part of the organisation, approximately 21 per cent and the fact that their proportion decreases further as rank increases. Further action is needed to address the issue of female recruitment and promotion.
The IHRC recommends:
- Government and Garda management must take all necessary measures to protect the personal safety of the members of An Garda Síochána;
- Human rights compliance and awareness should be a determining factor in the promotion process within An Garda Síochána once the candidate has reached the required standard of merit;
- A more coherent and transparent recruitment and promotion policy, which sets justified and clear targets for female recruitment and promotion relative to male recruitment and promotion is required.
ENDS/
For further information, please contact:
Fidelma Joyce,
IHRC,
Tel: 01 8589601/Mobile: 087 783 4939
Notes to Editors
– The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has a statutory remit under the Human Rights Commission Act 2000 to endeavour to ensure that the human rights of all people in the State are fully realised and protected in the law and policy of the State.[1] The IHRC is Ireland’s National Human Rights Institution, recognised as such by the United Nations.[2] The IHRC is mandated to review the law and practice for compliance with Ireland’s human rights standards in all state bodies, including An Garda Síochána.[3] As a result, the IHRC has a role in reviewing, not only the legislative framework for policing, but also An Garda Síochána’s operational policies and their implementation, and to make recommendations thereon.
– The Policy Statement provides an overview of the applicable national and international law and best practice in the field of human rights and policing. It surveys the current legal and policy context in which An Garda Síochána is operating, acknowledging some reforms introduced so far in the area of human rights. Finally, it identifies some of the key challenges and priorities ahead for developing a more human rights compliant police service and in light of these, sets out the IHRC legislative and policy recommendations. This is not an exhaustive list of areas of concern and the IHRC will in future continue to comment as appropriate on these and on other areas of concern, as informed by the Walsh study and additional sources as the case may be.
– To assist further in the promotion of a culture of human rights in policing and to progress its work with An Garda Síochána, in April 2006, the IHRC, commissioned Professor Dermot Walsh of the University of Limerick to undertake a study on An Garda Síochána and human rights standards. The IHRC considered that it was an important time to commission the study having regard to: the rapidly changing nature and increasing diversity of Irish society; the example set in Northern Ireland (since the Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland ("the Patten Report")); the new legislative framework under the Garda Síochána Act 2005 and the human rights concerns expressed in the Morris Tribunal Reports.[4] The result of this commissioned research, Human Rights and Policing in Ireland: Law Policy and Practice, written by Professor Dermot Walsh and published by Clarus Press (hereinafter "the Walsh Study"), represents an extremely valuable contribution to research on the law, policy and practice of An Garda Síochána from a human rights perspective.[5]
– While this IHRC Policy Statement has been greatly informed and enabled by the Walsh Study, the present Policy Statement represents the conclusions and recommendations of the IHRC in pursuance of its statutory mandate to make recommendations to Government on the measures it considers should be taken to strengthen, protect and promote human rights in the State.
Footnotes
[1] Section 8 (a) of the Human Rights Commission Act 2000 provides that the function of the Commission will be "to keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights".
[2] The IHRC is an "A" accredited national human rights institution in full compliance with the United Nations Principles relating to the status and functioning of National Institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights, General Assembly Resolution 48/134, 4 March 1994.
[3] Section 2 of the Human Rights Commission Act 2000 defines human rights as "the rights, liberties and freedoms conferred on, or guaranteed to, persons by the Constitution, and the rights, liberties or freedoms conferred on, or guaranteed to, persons by any agreement, treaty or convention to which the State is a party."
[4] The Morris Tribunal was established in March 2002 to investigate complaints concerning some Gardaí in the Donegal Division. The Tribunal concluded its work in October 2008, having issued eight reports which include extensive recommendations. The reports are available at http://www.morristribunal.ie.
[5] Dermot Walsh, Human Rights and Policing in Ireland: Law, Policy and Practice, 1st ed, Clarus Press, Dublin, 2009.