The sixth report of the Morris Tribunal, published by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform this afternoon (7 May 2008), once again highlights disgraceful conduct by certain Gardaí.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) fully agrees with Mr Justice Frederick Morris that An Garda Síochána must “robustly embrace change” in order to repair the damage to its reputation and morale caused by the misconduct of some of its members.
Speaking shortly after the release of the report, ICCL Director Mr Mark Kelly said:
“After the last three Morris reports were published in 2006, the ICCL produced a blueprint for human rights based reform of policing, and significant improvements in police accountability arrangements have been introduced in recent years. These latest revelations from the Morris Tribunal highlight the need for further human rights based reforms.”
“A human rights monitoring framework should be introduced, together with human rights proofing of policy and practice, and a comprehensive review of training. This should cover not only the specific changes in Garda questioning and covert surveillance practices identified by Judge Morris, but the whole range of Garda practices which engage human rights including arrest, detention, searching and the use of force. Robustly embracing these changes will go a long way towards restoring the tarnished reputation and morale of An Garda Síochána”, Mr Kelly concluded.