Lack of sanctions available to deal with gardaí who ‘avoided work' in Roads Policing Units, Crowe Report finds
The Crowe Report revealed some gardaí 'deliberately avoided doing productive work on routine basis', with supervisors feeling there was 'little or nothing' they could do to address this situation.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has described the findings as 'shocking and disturbing', while garda associations said it highlights resource issues and the failures of senior management.
While no retrospective action will be taken against individual gardaí, who were anonymised in the report, senior officers said they will begin looking 'very comprehensively' at specific performance across the country.
The external review was ordered by Mr Harris after he received a confidential letter in June 2023 highlighting issues within Roads Policing Units (RPUs).
A 'noticeable' minority were unmotivated and unconcerned with doing an effective job
Crowe consultants visited six garda divisions, four of which were rural, and spoke to up to 120 roads policing gardaí as part of their review.
They found that the majority of RPU members were productive and focused on improving road safety, while saying a 'noticeable' minority were unmotivated and unconcerned with doing an effective job.
The review team said that on many occasions, local management referred to some gardaí 'deliberately ignoring offences' and spending their shift at a low level of productivity.
Supervisors spoken to referred to individuals completing a day's work without issuing a single ticket or making a traffic detection, with reports of some RPU members parking their patrol car out of sight to avoid doing any work.
The report also raised concerns about discrepancies in the average number offences detected by gardaí in different divisions. In 2023, one division had an average of 166.8 lifesaver offences per garda, compared with 105.8 in another division.
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The examiners said this illustrated the lack of effective supervisions within RPUs and the inability, or unwillingness, of supervisors and more senior gardaí to proactively manage performances, describing it as a 'core problem'.
The interpretation of the internal policy PALF (Performance Accountability and Learning Framework), which references gardaí not being reviewed on numeric targets, was also highlighted as an issue.
The report said that another 'major inhibiting factor' was the relationship with industrial relations in the force. It found that supervisors were 'apprehensive that any attempt to invoke sanctions would create industrial relations problems with the Garda Representative Association'.
The GRA has rejected allegations that middle management was afraid or unable to deal with some members.
'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,' a GRA statement said.
A significant number of vacancies within roads policing, where staffing has dropped by 40pc since 2009, was also identified as a contributory factor to the lack of productivity.
Training was also highlighted as an issue, with some RPU gardaí 'unable to access driver training to enable them to drive roads-policing vehicles'.
Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon said new conduct regulations now offered a 'whole suite of options' to deal with underperformance and avoid invoking disciplinary measures that supervisors may have felt were too harsh in certain instances.
AGSI president Declan Higgins described the report as a 'hard-hitting wake-up call'
Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman, who has overall responsibility for roads policing, described the report's findings as 'unsatisfactory and unacceptable', saying the force needs to 'undoubtedly deal with the small minority of individuals and cultures' within the report.
Asked about the role of senior management within the findings, and whether this was an issue from the very top down, Ms Hilman said it was for the organisation to collectively look at.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) rejected the implication that supervisors were 'unwilling' to carry out their role, saying its membership are committed leaders who are often hampered by stretched staffing levels.
AGSI president Declan Higgins described the report as a 'hard-hitting wake-up call' for An Garda Síochána, and that it signalled a strategic failure at senior management level.
GRA president Mark O'Meara said: 'The publication of this report simply reflects the concerns and challenges that we at the GRA 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.'
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