Adapting the Police Authority Concept to a Centralised National Police Service: Appearance over Substance in the Republic of Ireland?. Issue 4 (4th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Walsh, Dermot
• Is Part Of: Modern law review. Volume 81:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 622
• Page End: 645
• Publication Date: 2018-07-04
• Subjects: Policing -- Police democratic accountability -- Police Authority -- Irish law; Law -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 340
• DOI: 10.1111/1468-2230.12354
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0026-7961

Abstract

Abstract: The Republic of Ireland has been convulsed by a series of police corruption scandals over the past fifteen years and they show no sign of abating. In 2015, in an attempt to stem the consequent drain in public confidence in the Garda, the government established a Policing Authority which it presented as 'the most important single change in the governance of the Garda Síochána in its history'. This article critically examines whether the new Irish Policing Authority can be interpreted as a successful adaptation of the traditional police authority concept to a parliamentary democracy policed by a single, national body. In particular, it considers whether it is equipped to shield the Garda and policing from the influence of partisan political and institutional interests, while at the same time deliver transparent democratic scrutiny of the Garda and policing on behalf of all sections of the community.