Five years ago, Sarah Everard was raped and murdered after being abducted in London as she walked home from a friend’s house. The remains of the 33-year-old marketing executive were found in woodland in Kent, resulting in the arrest and conviction of Wayne Couzens, then a serving member of the Metropolitan Police.
It was a case that shocked Britain. But when it emerged Couzens had previously faced allegations of exposing himself and sexual assault, and was never properly investigated, shock turned to anger.
In the fallout, questions were asked about whether other offenders were hiding in plain sight in British police forces, with some of those questions also surfacing in Ireland.
It is important to say Irish policing has never experienced anything like Couzens abducting, raping and murdering a woman. However, in recent years there has been a steady flow of cases in the courts resulting in the conviction of Garda members for gender-based violence.
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The number of cases has been relatively small, but they appear to be emerging more frequently than before. Furthermore, allegations of sexual assault or sexual misconduct against Garda members was the leading cause of Garda suspensions last year.
In the policing-related debate generated after the conviction of Couzens, then Garda commissioner Drew Harris confirmed that in a near three-year period – from the start of 2019 to October 2021 – some 21 Garda members had declared a domestic violence order had been granted against them by the courts.
Such orders are commonly granted to women who go to the courts and set out how their partner or former partner has used threats, violence or abuse against them.
The publicity around the Everard case and a new disciplinary environment within the Garda ushered in during Harris’s term were expected to result in more Garda members declaring orders had been issued by the courts against them.
Now, five years on, it seems that prediction has been proven accurate. The Irish Times has reported today 17 Garda members last year declared domestic violence orders had been issued against them, about double the rates in 2019-2021.
[ Zero tolerance for domestic violence vanishes when the accused is a gardaOpens in new window ]
However, the legal environment around these orders remains as complex as ever for Garda Headquarters. In reality, senior Garda officers have no idea how many gardaí have been subject to these orders because a self-declaring system is in operation. If gardaí don’t declare an order, they may be able to conceal it.
When a domestic violence order is granted to a victim by the courts, the cases are held in camera, meaning they are private sessions covered by reporting restrictions. The profession of the person against whom the order is granted is also not specified in the order. Employers, including An Garda Síochána, are not informed.
In short, the legal system’s rules ensure the orders are used for one thing only: to offer the victim a form of legal protection from an abuser. The details of the order, including the identities of the applicant or respondent, cannot be processed, or leveraged, in any way for another use.
This includes being used by an employer who may want to take action against a staff member against whom an order has been granted. Any such action by an employer would not be lawful.
“Domestic violence orders only contain limited personal information, the name of the applicant, the name of the respondent and the domestic address to which the order relates. There is no information contained which would indicate any profession of either the applicant or respondent,” the Garda said in response to queries on this matter.
“Even if there was such information, or/if the respondent was otherwise identified as a member of An Garda Síochána, the processing of personal data on the domestic order, including the name of an individual, must be for a lawful purpose.”
[ Garda suspensions more than double as accusations of abuse riseOpens in new window ]
Garda Headquarters reiterated its position to members of a force in a “domestic abuse intervention” directive issued in 2025. It stated: “Garda personnel who are respondents, subject to any domestic abuse order arising from the Domestic Violence Act 2018 granted by the Family Law Court, will immediately report same to their divisional officer.”
The cases are reported to Internal Affairs and Garda members who declare orders may be diverted to alternative duties. If a Garda member does not declare an order has been made against them, and that comes to light later, they can be investigated internally.
Garda Headquarters has also begun publishing some details about domestic or gender-based cases within the force.
In the Garda Commissioner’s monthly report to the Policing & Community Safety Authority, formerly the Policing Authority, the number of Garda members suspended is set out. The data includes the reasons for a suspension, including gender-based or sexual allegations.
In Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly’s report to the authority last month, there were 101 suspensions, some dating from last year and others dating back over a much longer period, with some Garda members suspended for years.
Of the 101 active suspensions, 17 were for allegedly driving while intoxicated and 17 were for alleged sexual assault or sexual misconduct. There were also 10 cases of alleged domestic violence or coercive control.
Of the 42 new suspensions last year, 10 arose from allegations of sexual assault or sexual misconduct. This was the leading cause of new Garda suspensions in 2025, followed by alleged intoxicated driving, which resulted in nine new suspensions last year.
