Drew Harris and the continuing story of the bike

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121954114#Comment_121954114

Pulse is absolutely archaic. It was an old design we bought from NZ police as they were upgrading. A glorified SQL database is what it is. A couple of students in first year Uni could probably put something more competent together.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121959794#Comment_121959794

The '40 actions' relates to their new investigations management system, not to the original Pulse system. It's really hard to see how anything like this could have been implemented without extensive testing and development of new internal procedures. The '40 actions' certainly shouldn't have been a surprise, and if there's a problem with them, it should have been resolved long before it went live.

mikethecop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960279#Comment_121960279

there you are now applying common sense questions to a system of though that defies it repeatedly. you would have though there would be proper testing and training but no . there wasnt. some dope just made a decision without any concern for those they would lumber with the consequences. the police want them out preventing and investigation crime but some one else wants them recording and collating information that rarely is worth the effort put into it.

therein lies the problem

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960279#Comment_121960279

I’m assuming it’s a level of resistance to “change” to a degree but I don’t think that’s really the full story - unless it can be proven that the “modern” way of policing is getting better results than the old way, then there’s going to be this ongoing criticism .

My own view is that detection of crimes may well be better but crime prevention has taken a back seat - I was out and about today in two different counties - didn’t see one guard on my hour journey- not one.

hamburgham

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960418#Comment_121960418

Are there civilian employees in stations who can do any input or if not, is there a reason why there couldn’t be? Is there a reason why Gardai have to do all the input themselves?

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960582#Comment_121960582

Everything seems to be designed to be as slow as possible. Even providing a statement has to be hand written by a garda on garda headed paper. This can take even longer as, in my experience, the garda will try and write it in their words rather than what I'm dictating and you've to get them to correct it.

Quite often, the garda writing it down will (as many people do) have difficulty writing quickly and this can be frustrating to have to sit and watch.

It would be a lot easier if you could email a statement, they print it off and you can then sign it. But that would be too simple

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960582#Comment_121960582

Yes and no. GISC in Castlebar is the main hub for logging incidents on Pulse which is civilian staff operated. Used to work there for about 2.5 years. Gardai have to ring in and go through every facet of the incident no matter how big or small and can sometimes be waiting hours to do so depending on the call levels at any given time. The staff are overworked there just as much as the Gardai on the beat are as the turnover is super high.

Everything is logged by the dispatch centres and assigned a CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) number as well now, from a call about a cat meowing too loudly (has happened) to much more serious incidents. Anything assigned to a Garda has to be cleared off and an incident created within a certain number of days or it gets flagged. This may have changed since I left though, I'm gone almost 5 years!

Not sure exactly what station civilian staff do as I never worked in one myself.

Francie Barrett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVcBNLMsRXE

When will the detail come into the public domain, Drew Harris/Helen McEntee?

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121977756#Comment_121977756

don’t think we’ll ever know unless some sort of civil case is pursued which was reported a few weeks ago - not sure if it was speculation or just the possibility that such could happen

randd1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121960611#Comment_121960611

Or invest in proper speech to text software. Most of that software is fairly accurate these days, and cheap enough too. It would simply take a few minutes to correct the few mistakes. Speeds up the whole process, and the Guard doesn't have to waste hours writing and then typing the report, and there'd be a more natural flow to the interview.

evolvingtipperary101

This might set the cat among the pigeons this week:
The Ditch has obtained a 2014 internal garda intelligence file naming Athlone-based gardaí accused of links with the drug trade
This week we will name these gardaí.

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121994609#Comment_121994609

I don't think there's anything new in this. There was a whistleblower who made these allegations back then.

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121998748#Comment_121998748

I don' think they were ever named.
An internal garda intelligence file named three Athlone gardaí suspected of involvement in the midlands drug trade.

County Westmeath ex-garda George Garvey and ex-detective Tom Higgins both kept their jobs despite intelligence linking them to organised crime in the midlands. 

A September 2010 garda internal report, seen by The Ditch, written by Athlone-based sergeant Andrew Haran claimed Garvey had “tipped-off” drug dealers in the midlands town and was in a relationship with a suspected heroin dealer with a number of criminal convictions. No action was taken against Garvey

In 2019 assistant garda commissioner Anne Marie McMahon recommended Garvey face a disciplinary board of inquiry to examine one of eight allegations of wrongdoing against him.

Assistant commissioner David Sheahan later overruled her recommendation and decided against the establishment of a board of inquiry because of flaws he claimed to have found in the initial internal disciplinary investigation. Garvey’s suspension was lifted in summer 2019 as a result of this decision.

It is understood that Garvey remained a member of An Garda Síochána until his retirement in 2021.

“Higgins owed money… for drugs” and this dealer “wanted payment. Higgins refused to pay stating that he wouldn't pay as he always looked after” this dealer, who “soon after… got a tip off that his home was to be searched… Higgins may have arranged this search to teach” the dealer “a lesson”, reads the report.

Higgins continued serving as a detective garda in Athlone station till his resignation last year. 

After speaking to The Ditch by phone yesterday for more than five minutes about his time as a garda in Athlone, The Ditch put extracts of the report to Higgins and asked for his response. 

The line went dead. 

suvigirl

Yeah, they may not have been named publicly. But I don't think that members at the centre of internal discipline investigations should be publicly named.

If wrongdoing is found, then fair enough.