Garda’s Pulse database symbolic of a force under pressure

It is said information is power, and that is perhaps more applicable to policing than any other area of public life.

The Garda’s computer database Pulse – Police Using Leading Systems Effectively – is intended to store all the information available to the force and to track the progress of crime investigations.

As well as records on suspects’ criminal convictions and intelligence about their movements, the Pulse system is also intended to be filled with the detail of all crimes in the Republic that come to the attention of the Garda. It also has the capacity to record information such as searches and details of people detained at Garda stations.

If inputted accurately, fully and in a timely manner, the information contained in Pulse should come into its own in protecting society from repeat and/or violent criminals.

Checking the database would inform gardaí if people coming to their attention were already on bail for serious crimes.

The report of the O’Higgins commission of investigation into allegations made by Garda whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe became the latest in a long line of investigations and reports to expose Pulse’s flaws.

The commission’s investigation into allegations of Garda malpractice in Cavan-Monaghan found changes made to Pulse records were “consistent with an attempt to excuse the failure to prosecute” people suspected of criminal offences.

And in the case of violent offender Jerry McCarthy, the information on Pulse did not initially reflect the seriousness of two crimes – a serious assault and an attempted child abduction. He secured bail and later murdered Sylvia Roche Kelly in a Limerick hotel in December 2007.

The Garda Inspectorate has previously said Pulse had become a “repository” for information, rather than a vital, crime-fighting and intelligence-gathering device.

Garda members and other sources familiar with the system said the retrospective altering of records in cases as serious as deaths in Garda stations was not unusual.

“Members are not concealing deaths, but the records would be changed to show drunk people who died [from natural causes in custody] were checked more often in their cells than maybe they were,” said one source.

Others said it took so long to log on and off the system, and it crashed so often, that when one Garda member logged on, they often left their accounts open for other members to use it. This practice meant if any issue arose about the improper accessing or amending of records, it was impossible to determine which member on duty that day was involved.

In 2006 the Garda Information Services Centre (GISC) was established in Castlebar to take details from gardaí – while they were in the field – about incidents and enter them into a new Pulse file.

Gardaí who have used GISC said it worked well initially but has become overburdened and is short of staff, so long waits arose at peak times.

It means incidents are often not entered on the day they occur, with this work done days or weeks later by the investigating gardaí.

The continued failure of some Garda members to input incidents on Pulse was highlighted in a report 18 months ago by the Garda Inspectorate. It said frequently incidents were not recorded on the Pulse database for between two and six months after a crime.

Only 2 per cent of burglaries were recorded on Pulse on the day they occurred, with the average for all crime types just 14 per cent.

Track progress

Informed sources said under changes to how Pulse operates introduced last October in the wake of the damning inspectorate’s report, every new incident on the system is now assigned to a supervising sergeant who continually tracks the progress of cases through the criminal justice system.

The level of access to Pulse for the purposes of amending files depends on rank; only senior officers have access to make major changes to files. The termination of penalty points on Pulse records is restricted to a new office in Thurles.

However, many gardaí believe the supervising sergeants in stations will become overburdened in time as unsolved cases mount up and senior officers are “afraid” to close them.

Most gardaí believe the only remedy is to replace Pulse with much more modern technology, which is being examined by Garda management.