These lads have better things to be doing like busting water protestorās headsā¦
[SIZE=6]āThereās two of them in it; Donāt annoy him; Let him sleep it offā: GardaĆ on domestic violence[/SIZE]
[SIZE=5]The Garda Inspectorate does not paint a good picture of how gardaĆ deal with incidents. [/SIZE]
THE MAJOR REPORT into how gardaĆ investigate crimes looked at how some victims feel they were treated during the process.
The Inspectorate found that most officers provide an excellent service but that there is a problem with consistency across the force.
Interim Commissioner NĆ³irĆn OāSullivan said she was aware that some victims had felt let down by the gardaĆ.
āI want to reassure all victims of crime that we will support them, take their complaints seriously, and that all complaints will be investigated,ā she said in a statement this eveningā¦
Gardai told one woman who called them to her home after being threatened by her husband: āWe have enough to be doing, next time we wonāt call back.ā
Later that day, her husband stabbed her in front of their child.
The child was also injured.
Speaking specifically about domestic violence, Robert Olson, Chief Inspector of the Garda SĆochĆ”na said, āThe whole issue of domestic violence needs to be thoroughly reviewed.
āWe had about 11,000 domestic violence incidents and there were only 287 cases where somebody got arrested. That needs to be looked at very closely, weāre concerned about that.ā
First Impressions
The report finds that the initial interaction between a garda and a victim is vital ā and can lead to the victim helping in the investigation or not.
The Inspectorate concluded that people reporting property crimes were āfar more positiveā than if the offence was an assault or a domestic violence case. In the latter, gardaĆ were described as not empathetic and, even, disinterested.
This same view was also expressed by many organisations representing the interests of such victims. Staff at a womenās refuge explained that the service provided to victims of domestic violence varied according to the attitude of the attending garda and frequently the approach was one of disinterest or aimed at limiting garda involvement in investigating further.
Inappropriate comments made by gardaĆ were reported by some victims of domestic violence, including:
[LIST]
[]āThereās two of them in itā
[]āJust donāt annoy him and he wonāt come backā
[*]āLet him sleep it offā.
[/LIST]
According to the Inspectorate report, āMost officers always provide an excellent service to victims, but a small minority of officers consistently provide a poor level of service.ā
It said that across all police services, some young and inexperienced officers find it āvery challenging to deal with victims and suspects in emotionally charged situationsā.
Despite this knowledge, the Inspectorate said it found ālittle or no evidenceā of spot checks by supervisors on how officers were dealing with certain crime scenes. Although, in August 2014, gardaĆ began a process of procuring a Public Attitudes Survey, which may help to gather information from victims of crime about the way that their case was managed.
Phone calls are better
GardaĆ have been told by the Inspectorate that the letter they initially send to victims needs to be reviewed to be more empathetic.
Currently, victims believe it is a computer-generated, impersonal letter.
The majority of victims receive this first letter, which details the crime and the PULSE reference number, but some regions have better compliance rates than others.
In the third quarter of last year, just 59% of victims in the Kildare division received the first letter, while in Dublin, the compliance rate was 100%.
A second letter ā sent when an offender is identified and the case has progressed ā was not understood by many victims as it states āa person has been made amenableā.
According to the Inspectorate, āmost victims spoken to did not understand what this term actually meant and had to contact the investigating garda to establish what had actually happenedā.
It has recommended more phone calls are made to victims at key points in the investigation, such as the arrest, charge or bail of a suspect, as well as any court appearances. It has also pointed to other jurisdictions where IT systems are used with in-built reminders to call victims.
Following up
One of the biggest complaints by victims was a frustration over the lack of follow-up contact.
According to the report, victims believed updates on investigations were not adequately provided. They also found it difficult to contact the investigating garda due to changing shifts.
To compound the shift changes, when victims call a station and the investigator is not there, there is usually nobody else willing to help them. Calls are then not returned, they say.
Front-line gardaĆ and detectives recognise the importance of updating victims, but often struggle to find the time to do so, the report confirmed, citing high workloads as a reason.
Many gardaĆ also reported that they often have to cancel appointments with victims as a
result of duty changes to their working day.
The current pilot roster further adds to this difficulty, as members are away from work for extended periods of time.
Across the seven divisions, the Inspectorate found an inconsistent approach to updating victims and there was no national standard as to how or when this contact should take place other than the two required victims letters.
The main finding of the report in terms of dealing with victims said, āThe Inspectorate believes that the whole approach to victim care and contact by the Garda SĆochĆ”na needs to be urgently addressed.ā
āThe Garda SĆochĆ”na needs to provide a far more consistent level of service for victims of crime and regardless of where a crime occurs in Ireland, a victim should receive the same high level of a consistent service.ā
Plans
GardaĆ said today that they have already got a number of plans in place to improve how they deal with victims, including the establishment of Victim Services Offices across the country.
The Public Attitude Survey will also track the views of victims of crime and feedback will be used to identify areas of improvement, according to OāSullivan.
āIt is vital that all victims of crime receive a consistently excellent support service from An Garda SĆochĆ”na. It is the least they can expect at a time of need.ā