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Minister Flanagan notes publication of 2018 Annual Report of An Garda Síochána

Minister Charlie Flanagan, T.D., has today laid the 2018 Annual Report of An Garda Síochána before the Houses of the Oireachtas.  The Minister noted that this is the first annual report of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris since his appointment.

Minister Flanagan said:

I welcome the presentation by An Garda Síochána of a succinct report which highlights both the significant successes of the organisation as well as challenges it faced in 2018. The annual report also clearly identifies the Commissioner’s intention to address these challenges.

Minister Flanagan continued:

2018 was in many ways a pivotal year for An Garda Síochána.  In September 2018 the Commission on the Future of Policing published its report which sets out a blueprint for a modern, 21st century policing service. In December 2018, Government accepted the recommendations of the Commission and I published ‘A Policing Service for the Future’, the implementation plan giving effect to the recommendations of the Commission. This new programme of reform builds upon and supersedes previous reform programmes, which yielded many positive reforms and which are serving as key building blocks for the ongoing reform programme.

The report notes a number of challenges faced by An Garda Síochána in 2018, including accommodation, training capacity, bringing in skilled resources and introducing new ICT systems. The report notes that these factors contributed to some Policing Plan targets being only partially achieved, or not achieved, in 2018.

Reflecting on this, Minister Flanagan said:

My Department is working closely with An Garda Síochána to ensure that it has the resources it needs to perform to the highest possible level.  Record funding is being provided to support increased recruitment as well as investment in capital projects in particular in Garda ICT Infrastructure, the Garda Fleet and the Garda Estate. 

Significant progress is being made. We now have over 14,300 Garda members supported by over 2,900 Garda staff nationwide. These numbers are increasing and the ongoing programme of investment and reform will also lead to greater efficiencies in the organisation.

2018 also saw progress in the ongoing programme of capital investment, including the opening of the new state-of-the-art Divisional Headquarters in Galway and Kevin Street, Dublin, delivered as part of the ongoing Garda Building and Refurbishment Programme. 

The Government remains committed to supporting An Garda Síochána, to enable it deliver the highest possible level of policing services in all our communities, nationwide.

Key figures from the report include:

  • 1,183 new personnel joined
  • 12,717 Garda personnel trained in Code of Ethics by year end
  • 258 returned to the frontline from administration duties
  • 6,500 responded to Cultural Audit
  • 416 firearms seized
  • €28m drugs seized by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau
  • 11% fall in burglaries
  • 89% public trust in An Garda Síochána in Q4.

 

Notes to editors

A PDF of the 2018 Annual Report of An Garda Síochána can be viewed here. 

A record €1.76 billion was allocated to the Garda Vote for 2019 and this is increasing further to an unprecedented €1.882 billion for 2020. 

Significant capital investment is also being made, amounting to a total of €92 million this year and rising further to over €116 million in 2020. This includes investment of €342 million in Garda ICT infrastructure between 2016 and 2021 to enable An Garda Síochána to deliver on reform and deploy the latest cutting edge technologies in delivering professional policing and security services for the community.

 

Highlights from the report:

National Policing: 

  • The Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) had a number of significant operational successes, including significant seizures of firearms, drugs and cash. In addition, there were 13 operations mounted by the Bureau to prevent loss of life.
  • 64 victims of human trafficking were identified, representing a 25% increase in the total number of victims of human trafficking identified from 2017 to 2018.
  • The Garda Anti-Corruption Unit introduced a confidential reporting line in September 2018 to encourage the reporting of potential incidents of bribery and corruption, receiving 33 calls in its first three months of operation.
  • The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) dealt with a significant volume of requests for assistance with 248 child pornography enquiries accounting for the highest volume of new requests. The GNCCB case backlog (493 cases), while reduced in recent years, continues to be a critical priority for GNCCB management.
  • Associates of major organised crime gangs was one of the main focuses for the Criminal Assets Bureau. Particular emphasis was placed on targeting the lower level tiers of criminals in addition to more serious crime gangs in an effort to disrupt the progression of individuals within these gangs.  
  • The Extradition Unit returned 62 fugitives to other jurisdictions, including individuals wanted for drug and murder offences in the UK and US.
  • The National Public Order Unit (NPOU) assisted in weekend crime prevention hi-visibility patrols in parts of Dublin City Centre where there is a frequency of public order incidents. AGS also liaised with the Garda Síochána Inspectorate who were requested by the Policing Authority in October 2018 to examine the effectiveness of the policing of public order situations.  

National Security & Intelligence 

  • AGS continued to cooperate closely with EU and international counterparts in sharing intelligence and responding to threats.
  • The threat level of moderate remained unchanged from 2017, indicating "an attack is possible but not likely." The level of threat is kept under constant review by AGS. 
  • The project to connect Ireland to SIS II continued throughout 2018. Go live date for connection is expected in Q1 2020.
  • The Special Detective Unit (SDU) successfully convicted twelve persons before the Special Criminal Court for terrorist-related activities, including the longest trial in the history of the court where three people were convicted of IRA membership. This trial also saw the first convictions in the history of the State for the offence of knowingly assisting the activities of the IRA. 
  • The National Negotiation Unit dealt with a record 98 hostage/barricade/suicide (HBS) type incidents, with 60% of the incidents relating to mental health matters.
  • The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was deployed in a number of significant events including four royal visits and a Papal visit, all of which passed without incident.
  • In November 2018 AGS led the largest ever multiagency exercise (Operation Barracuda) to test response capabilities in the event of a terrorist attack.  

Community Safety

  • The Garda Bureau of Community Engagement promoted (through traditional and social media channels) a number of campaigns including burglary prevention, public assaults, online safety, staying safe when out at night and safe use of quad bikes/scramblers.  Other initiatives continued including Crimecall and Campus Watch.
  • The Joint Agency Response to Crime (J-ARC) won the People Skills and Organisation Development category at the 2018 Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards. 
  • A range of diversity training initiatives were rolled out to Garda members.
  • An extensive examination of the youth referral process under the Youth Diversion Programme was undertaken. The review found over 2,000 individuals and over 900 individual organisations who were victims of crime did not see their cases progressed properly. Each of the victims are receiving an apology from AGS, with the matter of accountability of serving Garda members being examined by Divisional Officers on a case by case basis.
  • Joint Policing Committees continued to provide an important forum to engage community needs at a local level. 
  • 149 people tragically lost their lives on Irish roads, representing a 4% decrease on the previous year's figure and the lowest road fatality figure since records began. However, the target for a maximum of 132 deaths as identified in the Policing Plan was not met. Further work needs to be done to meet the 2013-2020 Government Road Safety strategy target of a maximum of 124 road deaths per annum.  

Cross Organisational Services

  • Significant progress was made under the Modernisation and Renewal Programme. In September 2018, the MRP was superseded by the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. For the remainder of 2018 AGS focussed on delivering on those recommendations.   
  • Key 2018 MRP achievements included:
    • Workforce Modernisation: 258 Garda members reassigned to frontline policing duties.
    • Code of Ethics: 76.8% of personnel attended workshops to help embed the Code of Ethics.
    • Mobility: Pilot in Limerick Division and evaluation complete, future deployment and approach in development
    • Online Roster & Duty Management System deployed in the D.M.R East Division.
    • CAD: As part of national rollout, Computer Aided Dispatch is now deployed in the Eastern Region.
    • Uniform: Pilot of new uniform extended in three locations, incorporating members' feedback on its design
    • Cultural Audit complete and published. Garda Ethics and Culture Bureau established.
    • PALF: 67% of members trained to use the new Performance, Accountability and Learning Framework.
  • Internal Affairs -
    • Discipline: A total of 107 members were found in breach of discipline following internal discipline investigations under the Garda Síochána (Discipline) Regulations 2007. Two members were dismissed. Thirty seven members were on suspension at the end of the year.  
    • Complaints: GSOC notified AGS of 1,337 complaints made by members of the public against Gardaí which were deemed admissible by GSOC. 761 of these were forwarded by GSOC to the Garda Commissioner for investigation.
  • Estate Management -
    • The Programme for Government commitment to reopen six Garda stations on a pilot basis progressed significantly. Donard Garda Station in Wicklow reopened in December 2018 and it is planned that Ballinspittle, Rush, Stepaside, Bawnboy and Leighlinbridge Garda Stations would be reopened in 2019.
    • Two new Garda stations at Kevin St, Dublin (Divisional HQ) and Galway (Regional/Divisional HQ) were completed in 2018.
    • The development of three new Garda stations by way of Public Private Partnership was advanced with sites secured for three new stations at Macroom, Co. Cork, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary and Sligo.