The chairperson of the Policing and Community Safety Authority has labelled as “shocking” a report revealing that a significant number of gardaà assigned to Roads Policing are neglecting their duties and have no intention of fulfilling them, reports RTE.
The Garda Commissioner has pledged to make public the Crowe Report, which further reveals that those gardaà ignoring their responsibilities were indifferent to being observed, and that their supervisors failed to take corrective action.
Drew Harris described their conduct as “brazen and contemptuous” and referred to the findings of the report as “sobering”, reports RTE.
These troubling revelations surfaced on the same day the gardaà launched another of their road safety initiatives.
The independent examination of roads policing was initiated after a garda whistleblower alerted headquarters that many officers designated to traffic duties were not performing them, reports RTE.
The chairperson of the policing and community safety authority also highlighted that supervisors responsible for overseeing those gardaà either lacked the ability, the will, or the courage to intervene.
Elaine Byrne, chairperson of the Policing and Community Safety Authority, said the report was shocking and noted that certain members of the Roads Policing Unit appeared deeply disengaged from their work, reports RTE.
The review also found that these gardaà were not carrying out speed enforcement or checks for alcohol and drug use, and they showed no concern over being monitored, despite their non-performance being documented by independent reviewers.
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Ms Byrne further expressed alarm not just about the open disregard shown by some members—even when they knew they were under scrutiny—but also about the lack of proper oversight systems, reports RTE.
“They were in the cars with people, and they were openly hostile to doing their job,” she said, reports RTE.
“And I think once that report is published, you’ll see that, but also perhaps another thing that we were shocked about is that there seem to be a deference or a fear of some management, of not actually doing performance management, and just a fear of actually being managers within guards, within Roads Policing,” reports RTE.
Commissioner Harris denounced the behaviour of the gardaà as “brazen” and “contemptuous”, and noted that a dedicated working group has been formed to act on the report’s recommendations.
He also emphasized that the issue isn’t simply about reassigning personnel, as the problems identified are “systemic”.
Susan Gray of the PARC Road Safety group voiced deep concern over the revelation that some gardaà assigned to traffic duties are failing to carry them out, reports RTE.
Ms Gray said it was “very upsetting to hear that there are certain gardaà assigned to roads policing but not dedicated to doing their job”.
She described the situation as “appalling”, and added that her group is eager for the report to be released without delay, reports RTE.
“We need to see how bad the problem is, how many gardaà are we talking about and where they are stationed,” Ms Gray said, reports RTE.
She stressed that families must be able to trust that the roads policing units are fulfilling their responsibilities.
“It’s alarming to learn that they don’t seem to be monitored,” she added, reports RTE.
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