Advancing reform in police oversight

Work in the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), Ireland’s independent policing oversight body, has gathered pace in our preparation for the enactment of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill.

In 2018, the Commission on the Future of Policing published its report outlining a clear vision and roadmap for the reform of policing and policing oversight in Ireland, including sweeping changes to the composition and mandate of GSOC.

A key milestone in the resulting programme of reform was the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, published In November 2022. The draft bill proposes to replace GSOC with a new police complaints and oversight body with expanded powers, directly accountable to the Oireachtas. This represents a significant step forward in addressing a clearly-defined and long-signalled gap in Ireland’s policing accountability infrastructure.

The Commission and our colleagues across GSOC’s executive staff have engaged with the Department of Justice on the draft legislation, in the course of which we have outlined reasoned observations on gaps, practical issues of concern and other matters grounded in our experience of policing oversight to date.

In early 2023, the Bill began its passage through the Oireachtas and recently completed all stages in Dáil Éireann. It has now begun its passage through the Seanad. GSOC has been engaging with the houses of the Oireachtas to communicate our views and observations on the Bill. These observations are available to read on GSOC’s website www.gardaombudsman.ie.

Over the past year, preparation for transition to a new complaints and oversight body has been a core focus of GSOC’s work.

Throughout 2022/2023, GSOC has been actively engaging with the Department of Justice’s inter-agency and cross-departmental implementation programme for the Bill. This is a complex multi-strand programme, involving the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána, the Policing Authority, the Garda Inspectorate, the National Shared Services Office, and GSOC. In addition to being represented on the Programme’s Board and Implementation Steering Group, GSOC has been a core participant in two projects of particular strategic importance:

• The Operating Model project, to prepare the institutional and governance structures for GSOC’s successor agency, which will have an independent Oireachtas vote, a CEO who will be the accounting officer answerable directly to the Oireachtas, and an Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman replacing the present three-person Commission; and

• The Process Reform project, to establish, in close cooperation with An Garda Síochána, the reformed systems, procedures, protocols, and agreed lines of communication necessary for effective inter-agency cooperation in the delivery of the new legislation’s statutory functions for GSOC’s successor agency.

Work has also commenced on the procurement of a new multi-functional case management system. This system is fundamental to the ability of the new police complaints and oversight body to fulfil its enhanced mandate. This is a complex project for which we are drawing on a well of external expertise and guidance. Once complete, it will enable the new police complaints and oversight body to enhance performance management, track the progress and timeliness of investigations, and crucially, to produce robust data on trends and patterns, on which we can base research.

To ensure GSOC meets the requirements proposed in the new legislation, we also commissioned an external organisational review to identify what a transformed and expanded police complaints and oversight body will require in terms of staffing, resourcing and expertise from day one, right through to the longer term as the new agency begins to roll out its work.

In the coming months:

• development of a corporate identity and online presence for the new agency will get underway, followed by the rollout of public awareness and information initiatives;
• we will progress the acquisition and development of a new case management system that supports the work of the new complaints body;
• the work of GSOC’s Transition Steering Group, and sustained staff and inter-agency communication and engagement on the Bill and the transition process, will continue and gather pace; and
• GSOC will undertake further engagement with the Houses of the Oireachtas to communicate our views and observations on the Bill.

It is our clear aim as a Commission and executive staff to do everything we can to ensure that the new police complaints and oversight body that succeeds GSOC is equipped to provide the service that the public expects: efficient, effective, human-rights-based policing oversight that promotes accountability, and the enhancement of trust in policing in Ireland, in line with the vision outlined by the Commission on the Future of Policing.

It is an exciting time for GSOC and we look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead.

E: info@gsoc.ie
W: www.gardaombudsman.ie
X: @GardaOmbudsman