Policing

A forthcoming conference will bring together experts to discuss police custody in Ireland for the first time. Taking place in Blackhall Place on 29 and 30 September 2022, the conference will hear from gardaí, members of the Garda Inspectorate and the Policing Authority, representatives of NGO

A group of young men, known as the "Derry Four", were coerced into confessing to the murder of a soldier in 1979, an investigation by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has concluded. The watchdog investigated on the foot of complaints from the men, three of whom were aged 17 at the time and

Emergency legislation is to be brought forward by ministers to provide for a continued legal basis for gardaí to present cases in the District Court on behalf of their colleagues. The move comes after the High Court ruled last week that members of An Garda Síochána only have a r

The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is considering whether to launch an investigation into the use of strip-searches against dozens of under-18s last year. A recent investigation by The Detail revealed that PSNI officers strip-searched children and young people under the age of 1

Emergency legislation could be introduced to give non-prosecuting gardaí a right of audience before the District Court to address the "turmoil" caused by a recent High Court ruling, the chair of the Oireachtas justice committee has suggested. Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger ruled this week that

In an open letter first published by The Irish Times and included below in full, experts from seven universities and 13 NGOs in Ireland oppose the government's plans to use facial recognition technology for policing. The Minister for Justice plans to expand Garda surveillance powers with policing fa

The High Court has determined that members of An Garda Síochána only have a right of audience before the District Court where they have initiated and conducted the prosecution of the accused. Accordingly, the court held that non-prosecuting gardaí do not have a right of audience

A significant High Court ruling has effectively brought an end to the practice of gardaí presenting criminal cases to the District Court on behalf of their colleagues. Until now, gardaí have regularly appeared in court to present cases in which they have no involvement on behalf of the

Legislation underpinning the retention of data by gardaí will be amended following a successful EU court challenge brought by convicted murderer Graham Dwyer, the government has announced. In April, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held that the "general

Gardaí should be required by law to record race and ethnicity data during a stop and search, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has recommended. The rights watchdog has also called for stronger wording to prohibit racial profiling, as well as detailed guidelines developed in consu

The PSNI is facing legal action after a data breach reportedly saw the personal information of 152 people shared with police in the United States. The force said it had referred itself to the Police Ombudsman and informed the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in relation to the breach, the Bel

Volunteer police officers in England and Wales will be armed with Tasers under controversial UK government plans. In a speech to the Police Federation annual conference, home secretary Priti Patel said special constables would be authorised to carry the electric stun guns in response to calls from p

The High Court has determined that a garda inspector was entitled to have his promotion backdated after it was delayed due to a false complaint by a member of the public. The investigation of the complaint delayed the promotion by seven months, during which time the garda did not receive the higher

The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a journalist who had his mobile phone seized by gardaí with a view to obtaining information relating to a serious criminal incident. The journalist had refused to give the phone to gardaí on the basis of journalistic privilege. The court deter

The government has been urged to clarify whether proposed legislation on digital recording by gardaí explicitly covers facial recognition and other emerging technologies. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said the human rights and equality implications of these technologies need