The Policing Authority is currently funding three research projects which are due to be completed in 2020. These include research on victims' experiences with the Garda Síochána, and two projects focusing on the experiences children and young people have in their interactions with the Garda Síochána. These are described further below.
Research project on ‘Victims’ Experiences with the Garda Síochána’
The Policing Authority has commissioned Trilateral Research, an Ireland and UK based research SME, to lead a research project on victims’ experiences with the Garda Síochána.
This research project, starting in January 2020, is designed to provide insight into victims’ experience of their interactions with the Garda Síochána and the impact of this interaction. It will provide important insights on:
- The nature and quality of victims’ experiences;
- The impact of victims’ experiences on their perceptions of, and likely engagement with, the Garda Síochána; and
- The effects of the Garda Síochána initiatives designed to improve victims’ experiences in the criminal justice system
The research that is being undertaken to understand victims’ experiences includes:
- Interviews with victims of crime residing in Ireland;
- An online survey to be completed by victims of crime residing in Ireland;
- Focus groups with organisations in Ireland that have direct interaction with victims of crime
If you are a victim of crime or an organisation working with victims of crime and would like to provide your experience(s) by participating in this research and/or would like further information about the study, please contact the Project Manager for the research, Leanne Cochrane:
E-mail: leanne.cochrane@trilateralresearch.com
Telephone: +353 (0)51 833 958
Policing Authority Research Bursary 2019
Two inaugural bursaries were awarded in 2019 under a new Research Bursary Scheme.
The awards were made to two projects focusing on the experiences children and young people have in their interactions with the Garda Síochána. The results of both projects are expected to be published in 2020. The two projects are:
Young people’s rights in the investigation of offences: A qualitative study of young people’s experiences of being interviewed by the Garda Síochána.
The aim of the project is to understand the experience of young people alleged or suspected of being involved in committing a criminal offence when they are being interviewed by the Garda Síochána, and to assess how these experiences meet international standards on the procedural rights of children. The project team comprises Professor Ursula Kilkelly and Dr Louise Forde, from the Centre for Children’s Rights and Family Law at the School of Law, University College Cork.
Adolescent pathways to crisis mental health care: From Garda contact to child and adolescent psychiatric services.
This project examines the current care pathways of Irish young people experiencing a crisis mental health event from first contact with the Garda Síochána through to psychiatric care. It aims to develop recommendations for policy and practice that can enhance adolescent access to psychiatric services and thus, promote timely assessment, and if necessary, treatment. This research team comprises Professor Fiona McNicholas and Dr Louise Rooney from the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin.
