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Current Developments in Police Governance and Accountability in Ireland

Walsh, Dermot P. J., Conway, Vicky (2011) Current Developments in Police Governance and Accountability in Ireland. Crime, Law and Social Change, 55 (2-3). pp. 241-257. ISSN 0925-4994. (doi:10.1007/s10611-011-9271-z) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:36425)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10611-011-9271-z

Abstract

2005 saw the passing of landmark legislation for policing in Ireland—the Garda Síochána Act—which made substantial changes to the structures and operation of governance and accountability. It came on the heels of the greatest scandal ever faced by the Irish police. This paper sets out to assess critically the impact of that legislation. We begin by considering the nature of police reform and the various conditions necessary for successful change. We then contextualise the reforms in Ireland, considering the existing structures of governance and accountability and highlighting the numerous concerns which existed in relation to them. The focus then turns to the Morris Tribunal, which documented gross misconduct and corruption in one Garda division. We examine how this served as a major catalyst for reform in Ireland. The paper then turns to consider the reforms themselves providing an overview of the legislation and critiquing in depth a number of features: the clear centralisation of government control over the police, the limited independence of the new independent police complaints body and the failure to fully embed the reforms in a human rights agenda. We conclude by arguing that insufficient steps have been taken to address police governance and accountability in Ireland and that the best opportunity for such reform may have been missed.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s10611-011-9271-z
Subjects: K Law
K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Kent Law School
Depositing User: Catherine Norman
Date Deposited: 14 Nov 2013 15:45 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:13 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/36425 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Walsh, Dermot P. J..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6652-4585
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Conway, Vicky.

Creator's ORCID:
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