Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I commend the work that went into the various tribunal and inspectorate reports and the report by Senator Maurice Hayes and the advisory group on Garda management. The work was carried out with such attention to detail and each report contains several recommendations against which no one can argue. The tribunals were examples of those that have worked. The interim reports allowed recommendations to be implemented as the investigations proceeded. We know from experience that tribunals take a long time but these tribunals were prompt in coming to their conclusions.

The first report of the Morris tribunal contained many important recommendations which allowed them to be implemented quickly. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has been criticised, however, on the publication of the later reports. Village magazine asked why the publication of the later reports of the Morris tribunal were delayed until August 2006. The delay, it argued, gave the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, time to protect his flank against further criticisms of not having acted on previous recommendations. It continued that he published disciplinary regulations which go some way in implementing the recommendations made two years ago. I would be interested to hear his views on this criticism.

The Republic of Ireland is behind in reforms of its police force. It is not unique in facing a crisis in its police force. Many countries, such as the United States, Belgium, Australia, the UK and Northern Ireland, have had to confront the type of issues we face. The point is how one responds to such crises.

The Labour Party usually offers the Patten commission as a good example of reform. The Patten commission examined best practice. Senator Maurice Hayes has brought great expertise to the Republic of Ireland in terms of how we can reform our police service. He is working with the Minister in that regard. He was appointed to the advisory group and it has made important recommendations. He was also involved in the Patten commission.

A year or so ago I attended a lecture by Paul Smith, if I remember his name correctly. He is a QC and was involved in the Patten commission. He said the commission examined best practice elsewhere and decided that the best practice — this is my interpretation of what he said — is where there is an emphasis on public accountability, community policing and problem solving. The way the Patten commission recommended achieving those objectives, and how it set about reforming the police force, was through setting up a policing board and local committees, with an emphasis on accountability, working with the community and so forth.

The Minister has said previously that Northern Ireland is different and unique. However, it is not unique. The reforms that were made in Northern Ireland reflected what the Patten commission decided was best practice throughout the world. In fact, the commission tried to improve on that and went as far as it could in that regard. That is the problem for the Minister. He has brought about reforms but he has not gone the extra mile whereby one could say he has radically shaken up the police force and reformed it. I welcome the reforms the Minister has made but they do not go far enough. That is the Labour Party position.

The way the Garda Síochána is managed and organised is still subservient to the old structures, although they are being reformed. Some aspects of the type of reform introduced in Northern Ireland have been introduced here and that is welcome. However, one example of how the Minister has not opted for ultimate reform and ultimate public accountability is with regard to the appointment of a Garda authority.

With regard to academic analysis of the different approaches to policing, Dr. Barry Vaughan, an academic at the IPA, has examined two theoretical approaches. One, which still dominates in Ireland, is the managerial notion of policing and seeing citizens as customers. The second, which places more importance on police-community relations, aims to maximise the input and participation of the local community in the delivery of security and safety. This model involves far more accountability and public involvement. Paul Smith said in the lecture to which I referred that the police are the public and the public are the police. They are not separate entities. The police are there on the public's behalf to provide law and order, security and so forth.

It is not only Northern Ireland that has established a police authority. Other countries have established versions of it. Northern Ireland, in fact, was late in implementing it because it had been introduced in Great Britain in the 1960s. The system is reflected at local level. I welcome the Minister's intention to introduce joint policing committees; the sooner he does so, the better. He should then increase the powers of those committees and make them more capable of doing the will of the public, local public representatives and so forth. That is the next step to be taken following establishment of the committees.

The other issue mentioned by members of the Patten commission, as well as in the lecture I attended some time ago in the Royal Academy, is the need to get the police out of cars and onto the streets. That has been done in other countries. It is a case of going back to basics. When I attend meetings about crime in my local community many people, who are now in their 50s, recall that when they were young, they knew the local policeman. He lived down the road or nearby and people knew him. The police were visible in the area and people felt safer. When one makes that argument to policemen they often respond that they cannot do as much if they are walking on the beat and that a car gives them greater mobility and speed. However, it is something that must be considered.

In America, many of the states have examined this and acknowledged that it has to be done. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has also considered it. This brings us back to the issue of community policing, a concept I have recommended. The London Metropolitan Police Service promotes the idea of safer neighbourhoods, where police agree to work with the local community on policing priorities. An example of this is patrols being arranged according to what the community thinks is required and the areas the community believes should be patrolled. This has been very successful in London.

There must be greater emphasis on community policing. It also allows for greater public accountability and working with the public. However, it is given token treatment in Ireland. It is not just about providing a certain number of community policemen, although that is important. In Clondalkin, the Minister increased the number of community gardaí and then slashed the number last year. The number has gone down from 16 in 2005 to nine in 2006. That is according to the Minister's reply to parliamentary questions from my party colleagues in the Dáil.

There must be a change of approach to policing if the concept of community policing is taken on board. The police must take account of the priorities of the community in how they do their work and in making plans for patrolling and so forth. There must be a problem solving approach where one attacks the causes of crime and works at crime prevention instead of reacting to crime. It has been successful in other countries. It probably has not been implemented anywhere as extensively as it should be. In many ways it is something with which police forces in other countries are still coming to grips but it makes sense. Rather than react to events, the police try to deal with the cause of crime. One looks at what is causing certain problems in a particular area and one works with the community to solve them.

In some American states, for example, there are sub-offices in housing estates managed by police officers and people from the community. People in the local neighbourhood can talk to the police or to people working with them about the problems they are experiencing. That is the type of approach that should be introduced here.

I recall meeting the head of the Garda Inspectorate, Kathleen O'Toole, a number of years ago when she held the equivalent position in Boston. I do not remember the exact title she held. She had done great work there and I believe she is the right person for the job here. I read her report and what was striking was her comment that there was a perception that the pendulum was in danger of moving too far in the direction of specialisation, to the detriment of core policing operations. She did not say those specialised operations were not important, but spoke about the need for greater and more effective uniformed police visibility. That is important in terms of overall reform, not just because the public wants it but because it works. It goes back to zero tolerance, about which Deputy O'Donoghue spoke when he was Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform but which was never implemented. Many people misunderstood zero tolerance. In its original formulation it meant going after the small issues, nipping problems in the bud, getting at the causes of crime and problem solving so that matters do not degenerate in a community. That is the kind of approach we need in Ireland.