Guards covered up child abuse

steddyeddy

Sorry to have to start a depressing thread like this but this fact is extremely damaging to the gaurds. Up to 65% of abuse claims were not filed. I have said this again and again that the holy tinity of child abuse in this country was the church the gaurds and the state. Now Ill just say now I have no problem with the gaurds other than this. I am not a gaurd hater in the slightest but this is terrible. I really hope people are prosecuted for this.


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0203/1224311174966.html

A REPORT by the Garda Inspectorate into consistent failures by members of the force to properly investigate, record and prosecute cases of child sex abuse makes for disturbing reading. An excessively deferential approach and a reluctance to apply for search warrants to secure church records are suggested as contributory factors. It sounds familiar. Hasn’t that kind of weak-kneed reaction to potentially illegal or criminal actions by senior church, business, banking and political individuals been tolerated for decades?
It is important to realise that this investigation was ordered in the aftermath of the Murphy report concerning clerical sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese and it deals with criticisms of the Garda Síochána from 2009. The report was delivered in 2010, as public anger over denials and cover-ups by the Catholic hierarchy overflowed and a fresh investigation was launched in the Cloyne diocese. In the circumstances, withholding the document to avoid the Garda being caught up in public condemnations was understandable. The official reason given for the delay was “legal constraints”.
Poor management, indiscipline and inadequate Garda record-keeping has come under scrutiny in recent years. The Morris tribunal, which investigated corruption in Donegal, recommended the establishment of a Garda Inspectorate to review professional standards and to promote best international practice. In this case, it found that record-keeping was so poor that up to 65 per cent of sex crimes against children were not officially noted. Many were not recorded as criminal offences. And a poor level of co-operation existed between the Garda and the Health Service Executive in responding to abuse cases.
Public bodies and successive governments have failed to protect and uphold the rights of children and vulnerable individuals. Months before the Murphy report generated public anger and consternation, the Ryan report into similar abuses within religious-run institutions found that, by their silence and inactivity, State agencies had colluded in the physical and sexual abuse of children. Given such unambiguous condemnation of official laxity, it became necessary to implement recommendations from the Garda Inspectorate report before releasing the document.
The good news is that many of the proposed reforms have been put in place, including a change of policy that allows sex abuse complaints through a third party to be investigated. Gardaí have been specially trained to interview children and Garda authorities have made it clear that deference to the church has no place in criminal investigations. These are positive developments that will enhance public confidence and address any suggestion that canon law should take precedence over State authority. Traditional mind-sets and public attitudes are changing towards those in authority. The law is designed to uphold civilised standards and to punish transgressors. For a democracy to function effectively, the rules must apply to everyone, without exception.

lividduck

steddyeddy wrote: »

Sorry to have to start a depressing thread like this but this fact is extremely damaging to the gaurds. Up to 65% of abuse claims were not filed. I have said this again and again that the holy tinity of child abuse in this country was the church the gaurds and the state. Now Ill just say now I have no problem with the gaurds other than this. I am not a gaurd hater in the slightest but this is terrible. I really hope people are prosecuted for this.


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0203/1224311174966.html

I think you will find it was The Guards not the gaurds whatever they are!

sandmanporto

lividduck wrote: »

steddyeddy wrote: »

Sorry to have to start a depressing thread like this but this fact is extremely damaging to the gaurds. Up to 65% of abuse claims were not filed. I have said this again and again that the holy tinity of child abuse in this country was the church the gaurds and the state. Now Ill just say now I have no problem with the gaurds other than this. I am not a gaurd hater in the slightest but this is terrible. I really hope people are prosecuted for this.


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2012/0203/1224311174966.html

I think you will find it was The Guards not the gaurds whatever they are!

you mean the Gardaí lividduck

Sonics2k

lividduck wrote: »

I think you will find it was The Guards not the gaurds whatever they are!

/golfclap

It's Gardaí

steddyeddy

lividduck wrote: »

I think you will find it was The Guards not the gaurds whatever they are!

Fixed!

seanybiker

Its the abusers I have a problem with

steddyeddy

seanybiker wrote: »

Its the abusers I have a problem with

True and as I said I have no problem with the gaurds they do a very tough often thankless job however they let the abusers keep abusing.

charlemont

I've said it before but the Gardaí that were in charge in those times should be sacked (if not already retired) and their pensions should be stopped.

People were beaten back out the door of the station when they went into complain about the brothers and it is no coincidence that a large majority of older inmates in our prisons were abused in their youth and had no one to turn to.

Gardaí were an absolute disgrace of a police force, Actually even calling them police is an insult to genuine police forces around the world who treated abuse as a serious matter. A matter which a lot of people here still think is a joke.

And good Guards that were appalled at the abuse were pretty much prevented from doing their job, I know nowadays that the Gardaí take abuse seriously.

Richard Hillman

The garda and the general public helped covered it up

steddyeddy

Richard Hillman wrote: »

The garda and the general public helped covered it up

Whos more responble the public or the people responsible for catching and reporting abuse? I mean it wasnt only institutions that abused but individual priests or lay people.

mikemac1

steddyeddy wrote: »

I have said this again and again that the holy tinity of child abuse in this country was the church the gaurds and the state.

Most abuse is in the family home

Might want to change your holy trinity there to include families who knew exactly what goes on but never reported it

lividduck

steddyeddy wrote: »

True and as I said I have no problem with the gaurds they do a very tough often thankless job however they let the abusers keep abusing.

Any evidence for that bearing in mind that all studies show that sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate of all catagories of offenders?

steddyeddy

lividduck wrote: »

Any evidence for that bearing in mind that all studies show that sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rate of all catagories of offenders?

Yes indeed I do. A mother of one of brendan smyths victims reported the abuse to the police. They said they would get onto it. A month later the mother enquired about their progress only to be told that they had lost the file. The lad later commit suicide.

A regards recidivism abusers are always abusers and failing to arrest a sex offender becuase he might not re offend is madness.

steddyeddy

mikemac1 wrote: »

Most abuse is in the family home

Might want to change your holy trinity there to include families who knew exactly what goes on but never reported it

Yes of course I would. Ill also add that how do we know the guards were doing anyhting about abuse that happens in the home? We dont thats why this story is so damaging.

steddyeddy

It should be noted that the report deals with abuse cases from 2009 onwards.