A spokesperson for Garda sergeants and inspectors has warned that the force is becoming a “statistical and bureaucratical monster” as deskwork overtakes policing and has led to frustration among many members.
Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) Deputy General Secretary, Ronan Clogher said that the recent focus on technology implemented under Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has removed gardaí from the “bread and butter issues” of street policing and engaging with communities.
The AGSI is meeting today in Westport for its annual conference which is titled, ‘Connected Policing: Connecting with Technology, Disconnecting from Communities’. The Garda Commissioner and Justice Minister Helen McEntee are expected to attend the event which runs through to Wednesday.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Clogher said that the gardaí are being subjected to stringent discipline for minor mistakes by management which is “very discouraging and frustrating” for their membership.
“Guards are out in the street, engaging with the public, trying to do their job and, you know, they cannot get everything right. What is occurring now is that it’s deemed that Guards cannot make a mistake. Management are coming in and instead of taking a ‘lessons learned’ approach, they’re approaching mistakes with discipline,” Mr Clogher said.
The association is calling for a “slowdown in change,” more training and a lessons learned approach “instead of a rush to discipline every time,” the spokesman said, who described An Garda Síochána as suffering from “change-fatigue”.
Members are also concerned by the number of officers being assigned to deskwork as a result of a new technological focus, which Mr Clogher said is resulting in turning An Garda into a “statistical and bureaucratical monster”.
“Paperwork is essential, but again what has happened with the substantial change over the last couple of years is that we now have huge swathes of gardaí inputting information into computer systems,” he said.
“The theme of our conference this year is: ‘Connected Policing: Connecting with technology, disconnecting from communities’. Yes, we have all this new technology, but the feeling within our membership is that guards are spending hours and hours inputting – they’re turning into a statistical and bureaucratical monster. They’re inputting into computers, they’re not out in the street. They’re not out meeting the public. There’s no high-visibility.”
Mr Clogher described the recent Investigation Management System (IMS), which records and investigates crime, as an “absolute disaster” from the start.
“That was an absolute disaster from the beginning, because that was generating jobs and jobs for relatively minor offences such as shoplifting and if an incident of shoplifting happened, you could have up to 20, 30 additional jobs which were not necessary,” he said.
This dissatisfaction is resulting in an expected “tsunami” of retirements from the organisation this year, with a predicted 20% increase in resignations from the force to take place throughout 2024.