Results 1-20 of 44 for gsoc segment:8621118

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Mr. Hugh Hume: To reiterate around the suspensions, An Garda Síochána does not tell GSOC all the rationales for suspending members so we do not know. While GSOC carries out significant investigations into gardaí, the Garda investigates matters that arise from within its own knowledge and ability and it suspends members based on information it has or complaints it is dealing...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tim Lombard: Regarding Covid and how it affected GSOC operations, in particular with regard to the report, how did Covid hamper or become in an issue in putting together GSOC's workload and in advancing complaints? Was there a peak or trough in the Covid period? How did Covid affect GSOC's ability to operate and deal with complaints?

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tim Lombard: Regarding GSOC's ability to recruit, there is 3.8% unemployment at present in the State. It was announced yesterday as the lowest rate in the history of the State. GSOC has a very unusual recruitment profile, to be honest. We are looking at a certain cohort of individuals who are required to fit the skill set to do this work. Will the witnesses give the committee an indication of the...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Mr. Hugh Hume: It is a matter for Oireachtas to decide if body-worn video and facial recognition software should exist in the State. From GSOC's point of view, the equipment may be useful. Our comparator in Northern Ireland published reports on the use of body-worn video and how that allows it to assess complaints and make a determination around what has happened at an incident. No...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tim Lombard: Regarding the long-term cases, is there a process in place in GSOC to deal with them? For example, is there a review mechanism or a cold case mechanism? What mechanisms does GSOC have to deal with a case that has been open for, say, three years?

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tim Lombard: I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their in-depth contribution. Will they give an indication of the number of open files GSOC has at the moment and provide a timeline for the opening and closing of these files? In other words, do we have files that are open two, three or four years? What is the profile of the files that are with GSOC at the moment?

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Eugene Murphy: I welcome the GSOC representatives here today. None of us underestimate the challenge of their job, which involves being seen to try to be fair to everybody. This will be a really good exchange. It is something we need to do as public representatives. For starters, and apologies if some of the questions have already been asked, how many people make up the staff of GSOC? I do not need the...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Pat Buckley: ...time Mr. Justice MacCabe was here, he spoke about the staffing levels and stated that he was hoping recruit approximately 30 additional people. He also stated that he wanted to at least double GSOC's complement with a large increase in the number of investigative staff. He also mentioned that the budget is not high enough, even though it is 22% above what was allocated. I was thinking...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Eugene Murphy: ...I asked a question about gardaí who have been suspended and whether they had been suspended for minor issues. What would be the most minor cases? To revert to what my colleagues said about what GSOC needs now in terms of resources and staff, how many more staff does GSOC need now to do its job properly? I thank the witnesses again for their engagement.

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Mr. Peter Whelan: When a death or serious harm occurs and the Commissioner makes the decision that it may have resulted from the conduct of a garda, he refers it to GSOC. When it comes to us, it is a case of we shall investigate so we must then carry out an investigation. Because such cases are so serious, we would carry out a very comprehensive investigation. It is usually very long and...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Eugene Murphy: I admire Mr. Justice MacCabe's honesty. I understand that GSOC has a very difficult job to do and I am sure the witnesses are all very honourable people who want to see that fair play is given to everybody but it is as well to be honest here. The perception among the public is that once it hears on the news that GSOC is involved, the Garda is guilty. I am sorry to say that this is the...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

...through Whitehall. They always felt as if they were going with their begging bowls to Whitehall which then processed the application for funding to Europe. They resented that. The situation with GSOC is that it does not have its own Vote. That means GSOC has to apply to the Department of Justice which passes the application on, having applied whatever filter it thinks is appropriate,...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

...officers, AIOs, so at any one time we can cope with maybe 400 investigations. That does not take into account many other factors, for example, where we have a major investigation coming in. GSOC has between 900 and 1,200 cases on hand at any one time, so would need significantly more than the 40 staff. On cases of suspensions, GSOC does two types of investigation. One is a...

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Fintan Warfield: I am probably way over time but I wish to clarify one matter. Under that Bill, a search of a Garda station by GSOC will be subject to approval by the Garda Commissioner. Is that the case?

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tim Lombard: Could we have a breakdown of the timelines for those cases in years? Is that information in the GSOC report?

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tim Lombard: Is the figure broken down by GSOC offices rather than police districts?

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Tim Lombard: GSOC's work profile is slightly different from the majority.

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Eugene Murphy: In general, how many police officers would be involved in GSOC? Would it be just that amount?

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Eugene Murphy: I understand that but most are suspended. I accept that it is not GSOC that does it.

Committee on Public Petitions: An Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Annual Report 2021: Discussion (1 Jun 2023)

Eugene Murphy: How long roughly would it last - two or three years? Has any case lasted five to six years where a Garda is still out of work because of he or she is under a GSOC inquiry? I understand there may be.