Garda - ICCL call for reform

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has produced an in depth report citing the need for change in relation to human rights implementation in An Garda Síochána (the Irish Police).

The report by Alyson Kilpatrick a human rights advisor to the PSNI (the former Royal Ulster Constabulary) comes just days after the controversy surrounding the use of masked police to assist the eviction of housing protesters.

Unveiling the report the Director of the ICCL, Liam Herrick, said:

“This is a pivotal moment for policing in Ireland. We commissioned Alyson to write this report because it is clear that, up to this point, An Garda Síochána (AGS) has never fully embraced human rights standards and values. This was evidenced, yet again, by serious concerns arising from the Garda operation on Tuesday night at an eviction on Frederick St. This report makes the compelling argument that taking human rights seriously at all levels of Irish policing will have profound benefits for Gardaí and for the communities they serve.”

The full ICCL statement and a link to the report are here:

https://www.iccl.ie/news/iccl-launches-guide-rights-based-policing/

An Garda Síochána have been involved in many scandals in recent years including most notably the attempts to smear a ‘whistleblower’ Garda Sergeant Maurice McCabe and also Garda John Wilson who exposed corruption in the Force (link):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garda_whistleblower_scandal

Bernard Moffatt