Drew Harris showed ‘utter contempt' for some gardaí by ‘drip leaking' lines of report, GRA says

Irish Independent

a day ago

It found that a lack of sanctions for poor performance and the absence of effective management led to a "culture to take root' in roads policing units whereby some gardaí deliberately avoided traffic offences.
It also found that resource issues, including some gardaí not being able to access training to drive roads policing cars, contributed to a lack of productivity.
The Crowe Report did not uncover evidence of a systematic and organised culture of work avoidance, but found that a minority of gardaí were "able to get away with" being unproductive.
It was commissioned by Garda chief Drew Harris after he received confidential correspondence in June 2023 which raised concerns about Roads Policing Units (RPU), with over 100 gardaí spoken to by consultants.
Commissioner Harris said that the findings of the report were 'shocking and disturbing, particularly given the importance of this work in saving lives and preventing life-altering injures'.
"While they found the majority of roads policing gardaí were professional, dedicated and productive, they also met a significant cohort of officers who are disinterested, have a poor work ethic and deliberately ignored offences.
"Any members of An Garda Síochána – either Garda or supervisor – failing to perform their duties is a breach of trust with the public who depend on us to keep them safe.
"We in An Garda Síochána must now all work collectively to rebuild that trust and continue the great work done by the majority of Gardaí every day to save lives and prevent injuries,' Commissioner Harris said.
In response to the report and comments from Commission Harris, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) said it 'simply reflects the concerns and challenges' they have been highlighting for years.
"A depleted Roads Policing Unit, lacking in proper training, resources and equipment has been effectively mismanaged and contaminated while morale is on the floor.
"Despite all these challenges, this report states clearly that the majority of RPU members are productive, professional and focused on improving road safety, which is a testament to the work that they do.
"The Garda Commissioner and the Chair of the PSCA in my view showed utter contempt and disregard for the integrity of these members by making comments that questioned the professionalism of the entire unit when drip leaking certain lines before the Crowe Report was published which gave an unfair slant to the entire findings.
"This report concluded that while some members were demotivated by their working environment, they remained professional and productive and it found no evidence of work avoidance or deliberate poor performance.
"This report refers to just six Divisions and only a small number of RPU were engaged with. The unfair leaking of selected quotes from this report caused a public outcry. It was not only damaging to members of Roads Policing units, but as referred to by the Commissioner, his supervisors and managers were unable or afraid to deal with those members.
"The Garda Representative Association completely refutes such allegations. We work closely with supervisors and managers within An Garda Síochána and find those ranks to be competent and dedicated and it is an insult and an affront to all those that these allegations have been carelessly levied on all ranks.
"Commissioner Harris had been in his position for over six years when he received the report from a whistleblower, and failed to remedy the matter if it did indeed exist, and moreover he employed an independent review by Crowe, thus abdicating his responsibility as Garda Commissioner.
"This is not the first time our Commissioner had levied allegations against our members, however, it is the first time that the Garda Commissioner has apportioned unjust blame on all ranks below him of incompetence, inability and disinterest.
"On behalf of our Association who represents rank and file members of An Garda Síochána, it must be abundantly clear as to why our members voted 98.7pc in the vote of no confidence against him.
"We at the Garda Representative Association have long highlighted the concerns and issues correctly highlighted in the Crowe report, and I firmly believe that this report justifiably apportions blame where it actually should be, and that is with Commissioner Drew Harris, and is more damning of him than the members of RPU.
"He has failed to address many, if not most of the issues we have repeatedly raised and instead, he has abdicated his responsibility in dealing with the allegations he raised and alleged, with damaging comments to the members of Roads Policing but also most distressing and damaging to members of the public.
"Unfortunately, the Commissioner chose to release this report, which he has had since March of this year, just two weeks before he retires, causing division and adding further anger not just to GRA members but also to other ranks within Garda Síochána,' the GRA said.
The full report, published this morning, found that some gardaí working in roads policing are unproductive, appear to be demotivated, and are unconcerned with doing an effective and professional job.
It said that while this was a minority, it was 'nonetheless a noticeable one', although the report said that the majority of RPU members were productive, professional and focused on improving road safety.
The report said that a minority were 'able to get away' with being unproductive 'to the frustration of their colleagues, supervisors and managers'.
The Crowe Report says that at the heart of the problem is the interpretation of an internal garda policy known as PALF (Performance and Learning Framework).
How this is being interpreted, to prevent supervisors from managing and evaluating individual roads policing gardaí, has been described as 'significantly frustrating the right of management to manage'.
The reviewers observed a 'marked reluctance amongst supervisors to proactively manage their staff resources and to hold RPU members to account'.
It added that there 'is a lack of effective sanctions' for poor performance with senior gardaí 'typically apprehensive that any attempt to invoke sanctions would create industrial relations problems with the GRA (Garda Representative Association).
Multiple reporting lines for RPU Inspectors were also identified as a contributory factor, with the Crowe Report suggesting that a more effective reporting and governance strategy should be considered.
'We found no evidence of a systematic, organised culture of work avoidance or deliberately poor performance within Roads Policing, and no evidence of bullying or dominance of RPU members by their colleagues,' it said.
'However, the absence of effective supervision and management, caused in large measure by the interpretation of the PALF policy, creates the circumstances in which such a culture has been able to take root'.
A significant number of vacancies within Roads Policing, which has dropped by 40pc since 2009, was also identified as a contributory factor to the lack of productivity.
Driver training was also highlighted as an issue, with some roads policing gardaí 'unable to access driver training to enable them to drive Roads Policing vehicles'.
The Crowe Report has recommended an immediate review of the PALF policy, and consideration should also be given to reporting and governance structures.
In a message to gardaí, Drew Harris said it is 'very disappointing' that the examiners found 'a significant cohort of officers who are disinterested, have a poor work ethic, and deliberately ignored offences.'
The Garda Commissioner also said that there needs to be a 'collective effort' by gardaí to deal with under-performance in roads policing.
Commenting on resource issues highlighted, Mr Harris said that 49 additional roads policing gardaí have been allocated within the last year, with more to be allocated in the coming months.
He added that €1m has been invested into road policing in the last 18 months with €5m in new fleet since 2022.
The Policing and Community Safety Authority, who provide oversight of an Garda Síochána, said it was 'deeply concerned' at the contents of the report.
'The vast majority of Gardaí perform their duties to a very high standard and do their utmost to offer a first-class, modern policing service to the people of Ireland,' chairperson Elaine Byrne said.
'However, as this report shows, some have a blatant disregard for the job and its functions. They knew that they were being reviewed as part of this report on Roads Policing and yet they were openly hostile to doing their job.
'We are seriously concerned that there seemed to be a fear from some managers of managing performance.
'We welcome the fact that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and his senior colleagues acted on the concerns expressed to him by a Garda member. This reflects a cultural change within the organisation, where uncomfortable truths are ones they have sought to confront rather than sweep under the carpet.'