Meeting in Public

19
Dec
2022
3:32pm

Press Release

Policing Authority publishes Review of 2022

The Policing Authority has today published its Review of 2022, providing an overview of the breadth and depth of the work it has undertaken this year. It highlights key areas of focus for the Authority’s oversight, as well as an overview of work including Garda appointments, research, and listening to the community.

Commenting on the publication of the Review of 2022, Policing Authority Chairperson, Bob Collins, said:

In what was a year of achievement and challenge for the Garda Síochána, the Authority continued to discharge its statutory oversight duties and to develop the range of its engagement with the public and within the Garda organisation. Emergence from the restrictions of the pandemic allowed us to hold a number of public meetings outside Dublin, a pattern which will be enhanced next year, and to engage directly with a wider range of units within the Garda Síochána. A notable feature of the appointments role of the Authority in 2022 was the appointment of six new Assistant Commissioners, following an open competition, which represented a renewal of the Commissioner’s senior leadership team on a significant scale.”

The Authority’s oversight of the Garda Síochána continued across a range of areas this year, including the invalid and unwarranted closure of CAD/999 incidents; custody arrangements; and engagements on the experience of policing for children and youth. Publications included two bi-annual assessments of policing performance; new Guidelines for Joint Policing Committees; Policing Priorities for the Garda Síochána; and a new Strategy Statement for the Authority.

2022 saw the Authority’s public meetings take place outside of Dublin for the first time—in Monaghan in May and in Portlaoise in November. The Authority values the engagements it had with the community and with local Gardaí in these areas in preparation for the meetings, and plans to expand local engagement such as this in 2023. The Authority remains grateful for the generosity of time and candour with which communities and groups have offered their perspectives on and experiences of policing.

In 2023, the Authority will continue to carry out its existing statutory functions, while preparing to combine with the Garda Inspectorate to form the Policing and Community Safety Authority in 2024, as set out in the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill.