The Policing Authority today published its Review of 2018 (learn more) which highlights the breadth of work undertaken by the Authority last year. The Policing Authority is a very young organisation, in many ways still developing, but by the end of 2018 almost all of the Authority’s statutory functions had been exercised at least once.
2018 was a very busy year for the Authority. Important work included overseeing the Garda Síochána review of homicide cases, deepening its assessment of policing performance, embedding the Garda Code of Ethics which was established by the Authority, encouraging to Gardaí to deploy as many Gardaí as possible to frontline policing and evidencing reform of the Garda Síochána throughout the country. History was also made in 2018 when the Authority, for the first time, nominated a candidate for appointment by Government to the position of Garda Commissioner.
Speaking on the Review of 2018, Policing Authority Chairperson, Josephine Feehily, said “I am happy to say that the majority of the priorities which the Authority set for itself in 2018 were achieved. There is much still to do in the coming year as the Authority builds on the experience and achievements of our formative years, extending the range and depth of our oversight activities. The planned busy programme of work will include a deepening of our understanding of how victims experience policing, increased engagement with Joint Policing Committees and enhancing our focus on human rights in policing. We have also commissioned the Garda Inspectorate to carry out an important piece of work on public order policing.”
The Authority looks forward to 2019 and will continue to carry out all its statutory functions of independently overseeing Garda performance including making senior appointments, setting policing priorities and performance targets for the Gardaí and advising the Minister for Justice and Equality in the context of the Government’s Policing Reform Implementation Programme. The Authority’s strategy for 2019-2021 will be submitted to the Minister for Justice and Equality shortly and we hope to welcome two new members of the Authority in the coming weeks. The Authority intends to hold six meetings in public in 2019, the first of which will take place on 17 January and will focus on issues arising from the Garda Youth Diversion Programme.
Additional information and any of the images contained in the review are available on request to pressoffice@policingauthority.ie
