In July 2021, the Authority commissioned Mr Derek Penman, former Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, to carry out an examination into the circumstances, and impact, of the invalid closure of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) incidents during 2019 and 2020. He provided an interim report to the Authority in November 2021 and a final report in September 2022, both of which are available on the Authority’s website. Mr Penman’s September 2022 report identified 36 key findings, and 16 recommendations on how the Garda Síochána can improve this service for the future, and avoid a reoccurrence of invalid CAD closures.

The Authority’s oversight of this matter continues and Mr Penman has recently provided an update report to the Authority on the outcome of the additional call listening activity conducted in January and May this year. It relates to a small number of calls that were not included within the “Serious Cohort” of incidents provided by the Garda Síochána for the comprehensive Call Recording Sampling Phase conducted in May 2022.   Mr Penman confirmed to the Authority that he is satisfied that the latest call listening work did not present any new issues, in terms of content and quality, that were not previously identified in his September 2022 review report.

The Policing Authority is committed to further engagement with the Garda Síochána to ensure that the recommendations arising from the report are implemented.  In this regard, Mr Penman will undertake further work on behalf of the Authority in the last quarter of 2023 to assess the extent to which the 2022 recommendations have been addressed.