‘Toxic and stifling’ – why rock-bottom garda morale must be taken seriously before it’s too late

• 1h ago

The state of garda morale – specifically the lack of it – is regularly cited by representative groups to illustrate the collective emotional response of their members to the challenges they face on either side of the station door.

Good morale in a disciplined organisation such as the police is a vital ingredient in achieving its purpose to protect and serve the community.

It drives the confidence and enthusiasm required to do one of the most difficult, dangerous and unpredictable jobs there is in a modern, complex society.

Traditionally, ministers for justice and Garda management swat away the complaints about morale as nothing more than an industrial/public-relations tactic to extract better pay and conditions for their members.

Away from the microphones, I have often heard ministers discount it as a normal feature of workplace relations, as public-service interest groups vie for a bigger slice of the pie.

“No one is ever happy with their lot, organisations like the guards will always have something to moan about,” one minister once said to me in an off-the-record remark.

In other words, the prevailing unwritten narrative has been that they are just a bunch of whingers.

But the debate around the state of morale in our police force has fundamentally shifted in recent times and all the indications are that it is becoming an issue that the Government and Garda management will ignore at their peril.

This is particularly so since the appointment of Drew Harris as commissioner, when he rode in to clean up Dodge City after the force was plagued both by scandals, and perceived scandals.

From the get-go, Harris adopted a zero-tolerance approach to infractions of discipline and procedures, as he embarked on a much-vaunted crusade to change the culture of policing here.

He has given many soundbites about stamping out corruption which, garda representatives argue, had the probably unintended effect of giving the public the impression that corruption was somehow rampant in the force, which it is not.

Harris introduced a tough disciplinary regime that gardaí of all ranks now perceive as overzealous and stifling.

While gardaí have no tolerance for corruption or bad behaviour, and accept that policing must be subject to accountability and oversight, the representative bodies say the commissioner has inadvertently thrown the baby out with the bath water.

The zero-tolerance approach now means “suspend first and ask questions later” in cases of the most minor perceived infractions of discipline.

Suspended officers, whether they are being investigated by gardaí or by Gsoc, are invariably left in limbo for years which causes considerable distress and disruption to their lives and those of their families.

Officers also talk about how the new regime has resulted in a much more bureaucratic approach to policing which is smothering them in unnecessary paperwork that is keeping them off the streets.

Sandwiched between a stifling oversight and management system, and an increasingly violent working environment, many ask “what’s the point?”

Before intervening in a potentially hostile or violent situation, gardaí say they now have to consider the prospect of disciplinary proceedings if they do act, and criminals are using the current impasse to full advantage by making vexatious complaints.

In such a scenario, it is easy to see why a garda resists taking action, which is bad for everyone in society.

An Garda Síochána is creaking under the weight of oversight from multiple bodies, including Gsoc, the Policing Authority and the Policing Inspectorate.

The already testy relationship between the gardaí and one of those bodies, Gsoc, has irrevocably broken down since a member of the watchdog revealed that ‘Garda M’ was to face charges arising out of the deaths of three reckless and notorious criminals following a car chase.

To add insult to injury, Garda M, who had simply been doing his job by trying to prevent harm to the public, had not been informed of the decision and had to hear about it through the media.

In the Dáil, Labour’s Alan Kelly summed up the public feeling around the case when he recently described it as “outrageous”.

When the case comes before the courts, it is likely to put the nonsensical regulation under scrutiny and Commissioner Harris and his management team will have to explain.

And then there is the scandal surrounding the senior Gsoc investigator – who had access to the files on the Regency Hotel attack – attending a party for Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch after his acquittal for murder in the same incident.

Antoinette Cunningham, the formidable general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), recently reflected the frustration and anger of her members when she staged a sit-in at Gsoc’s offices.

She refused to leave until an official notification was sent to Garda management allowing them to lift the suspension of one of her members.

In April, the DPP had directed that the officer concerned, who had been suspended for 23 months following an allegation of wrongdoing, had no case to answer.

Gsoc, for some inexplicable reason, had left the officer in limbo for a further six weeks even though he had been cleared of wrongdoing.

It is open to speculation as to how long more he would have been left in that intolerable position if Ms Cunningham hadn’t stood her ground.

But the anger of gardaí is also firmly fixed on their own management.

And that anger is not limited to the rank and file, the sergeants and inspectors.

Superintendents and even some chiefs speak of disillusionment and frustration with how “the job” has deteriorated.

“If anyone (in Garda HQ) even knew that I discussed the issue with a journalist I could find myself suspended and my life turned upside down,” one high-ranking officer told me recently.

This is why the complaint about poor morale in the force can no longer be swatted away.

For the first time in living memory, An Garda Síochána is facing a staffing crisis as officers vote with their feet and head for the door.

Over the past year or so, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of experienced officers resigning before they qualify for a pension; or retiring as soon as they have the necessary service to get the pension.

In a recent survey by the GRA, officers cited a “toxic culture” as the reason for their exit.

A decade ago, the prevailing trend was that such experienced officers tended to remain working until they reached retirement age.

There is also evidence that the ongoing morale crisis has turned people off joining.

The past two years have seen another unprecedented trend developing as an increasing number of recruits have thrown in the towel before finishing their basic training.

For the first time in its history, An Garda Síochána is unable to reach the 15,000 recruitment target the Government hoped to achieve by next year. The strength of the force has dropped below 14,000.

The unfolding situation is similar to the retention and recruitment crisis that has left the Defence Forces barely fit for purpose.

The Government and the commissioner will soon have to take the issue of morale more seriously. But by then it may be too late.