Fifty-three-year-old Dubliner Justin Kelly is set to assume the mantle of leadership when Garda Commissioner Drew Harris retires in a month. Here are the key challenges he faces in the role.
Garda numbers
Garda numbers are at just over 14,300 despite targets of 15,000 in the short term and 18,000 in the years to come. The process of applying for the Garda, securing a place and getting a start date for training can be protracted.
Consequently, some of those accepted into the force have secured other jobs or moved abroad by the time they receive a firm start date for training.
As such, some of the classes passing out from the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, have been as low as 140 this year. That is far short of the 200 personnel the college can handle in each of its four intakes per year. As well as streamlining recruitment, the number of recruits in training also needs to be increased by using satellite Garda training centres, home study and other measures.
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Domestic and gender-based violence
Last month, Women’s Aid published research that found 44 per cent of women who contacted the force for assistance over domestic violence or abuse found gardaí unhelpful. Though the Garda has established a National Protective Services Bureau for dealing with vulnerable victims targeted by sexual and gender-based violence, there is more work to do.
It appears more training is required across the force, not just for a dedicated bureau or local units, to ensure an improved and more consistent response to victims of gender-based violence.
Garda morale
Relations between the commissioner and Garda Representative Association (GRA) have been extremely poor, so much so that it has been corrosive for morale in the force. The GRA, which represents more than 11,000 rank-and-file gardaí, has refused to invite the commissioner to its annual conference and also held a vote of no confidence in him.
The commissioner was hired from the Police Service of Northern Ireland in 2018. The fact that a so-called “outsider” was appointed has been the source of considerable resentment for many in the Garda, especially the GRA.
Though the incoming commissioner is not an outsider, that is no guarantee that relations between him and the representative group will be better. The GRA vs Harris dynamic has been such a problem for so long that it has become toxic. A reset may prove more challenging than even senior GRA personnel anticipate. The new commissioner must manage the situation carefully.
Drug trade
Violent gangland feuding – with up to 20 gun murders per year – was witnessed during the Celtic Tiger period and also a decade ago as the Kinahan-Hutch feud began. However, more recently, the Garda has gained the upper hand on some of the most dangerous crime groups, and gangland killings have been limited to one or two per year.
Despite this, recent seizures of drugs and cash have been unprecedented in value. The most organised drug gangs are enjoying a boom, selling into a prosperous economy where the demand, particularly for cocaine, is insatiable.
The experience of the Kinahan cartel demonstrates that ambitious, well-drilled gangs, given the space to grow their operations quickly, become so wealthy and powerful that their leaders become impossible to catch. The Garda must continue to strike against the domestic gangs. And there is also the matter of the Kinahans – Christy snr and his sons, Daniel and Christopher jnr – remaining at large in Dubai.
