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Irish Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Evan Fitzgerald case shows why gardaí cannot operate on a ‘trust us' basis
The truism that policing exists in a state of perpetual controversy punctuated by crises has been brought into sharp focus recently. Controversies involving An Garda Síochána and the cases of Tina Satchwell (Dingivan), Michael Gaine and now Evan Fitzgerald are, to put it mildly, concerning. It must irritate conscientious and professional gardaí to listen to those of us who do not have to contend with the varied and enormous challenges of policing as we comment with the benefit of hindsight or opine from a position of academic expertise. But the unique nature of policing and the exceptional powers vested in sworn police officers require that a policing service is accountable whenever there is a question mark over its competence. Effective oversight and accountability are not an impediment to policing. These are, indeed, a necessary condition if it is to be done effectively. It is simply untenable to seek to operate on a 'trust us' basis. Trust must be earned and not presumed and it must never be taken for granted even if surveys show a high degree of public trust in policing. READ MORE To operate as an accountable policing service, Garda management must be comfortable with the duty to provide evidence-based justification in various settings where transparency is required. To be fair, the current Garda Commissioner has been diligent in his engagement with the Policing Authority (now the PCSA) and Oireachtas committees. His successor will also have to engage, perhaps less visibly, with the newly established Board of An Garda Síochána. The media play a crucial role in ensuring robust accountability. But an appropriate balance is not always maintained between crime stories that are clearly Garda-sourced and investigative journalism that probes issues of competence or corruption in relation to policing. Garda representative bodies will squander whatever political capital they have if they do not engage in a more constructive manner with the new commissioner Both can coexist, but there is self-evidently a prevalence of what is called 'copaganda' in much coverage of crime and criminal justice matters. Influencing or shaping media coverage of crime is no proxy for accountability. Recently acknowledged improvements in the reliability and credibility of Garda crime data should be the primary basis upon which An Garda Síochána presents in the public square, not manipulative or salacious briefings. However, it is unlikely that these can ever be eliminated as a news currency of value. The Tina Satchwell (Dingivan) case is now being reviewed at the request of the Garda Commissioner with a report to be presented in due course to the Policing and Community Safety Authority and the Minister for Justice. The Michael Gaine murder investigation, which is live, is being peer-reviewed in a routine manner. The Evan Fitzgerald case – in which, thankfully, a higher victim count was avoided – raises a number of disturbing questions . On what basis was the young man from Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, assessed as sufficiently low risk for gardaí to consent to bail being granted? Why did it take the public intervention of the judge involved to correct a media report that gardaí had objected to bail being granted? Why did it take until the Garda Commissioner appeared before an Oireachtas committee for the story to emerge that non-functioning ammunition had been supplied to Fitzgerald by An Garda Síochána in a controlled delivery as part of an undercover operation? On what basis did Fiosrú (formerly Gsoc ) reach the conclusion, in uncharacteristically quick time, that no further investigation was required? The recruitment of a new Garda Commissioner presents an opportunity, within the framework of new structures that should have been in place much sooner, to address problems of policing culture that have frustrated the efforts of the current commissioner to drive a reform agenda. The role of the new Garda Board will be of vital importance in this connection, and if there are tensions between Garda management and the board, that could actually be a positive sign. Garda representative bodies will squander whatever political capital they may have if they do not engage in a more constructive manner with the new commissioner. Maintaining an oppositional stance to reforms that have been implemented and are unlikely to be reversed is futile. Personalising disagreements with garda management is a waste of energy. In the period from 2017-2018 when the Commission on the Future of Policing consulted with rank-and-file members of An Garda Síochána and middle management, it was crystal clear that there was a keen appetite for reform within the policing service. Many ideas put forward, especially by younger gardaí, were excellent and were adopted enthusiastically by the commission. The time lost in implementing the recommendations of the commission is regrettable, but many of the reforms implemented – which are probably not as transformational as sometimes claimed – provide a solid basis upon which to proceed with a degree of confidence. The new commissioner will start with an unenviable list of ongoing controversies. Their job is to ensure that these do not become crises. This is a slightly better context than the one in which the current commissioner commenced his tenure, which was, most definitely, a context of deep crisis. Donncha O'Connell is an established professor of law in University of Galway. He was a member of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland
Irish Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Only the introduction of Tina's maiden name could stir a response from ‘monster' Richard Satchwell
'My name is Sarah Howard. I am Tina Dingivan's niece.' Richard Satchwell , the man about to be sentenced to life for Tina's murder, moved his head up, ever so slightly, when her name was spoken. Throughout the trial, the woman he killed, his wife, was referred to as Tina Satchwell. His name. Sarah finished reading her victim impact statement. READ MORE If it made any impact, he certainly didn't show it. He never once looked at her. But she made sure to look at him as she passed by the dock, an expression of disgust on her face. Next up. 'My name is Lorraine Howard. I am Tina Dingivan's sister.' Again, just a tiny movement of the head at the mention of that name. Lorraine finished reading her victim impact statement. Satchwell, motionless, eyes cast down, ignored her too. It was only the pointed use of Tina's family name which seemed to stir some flickers of awareness. Lorraine Howard said Richard Satchwell 'stole' precious time she would have had with her sister, Tina (pictured). Photograph: Irish Examiner Both women called him out for the cruel, manipulative 'monster' he really is. They described how he continued to torture them with public outpourings of his love for his 'missing' wife after he killed her and hid the body. They told him how his need to have 'ultimate control' over Tina led to her violent death and a lifetime of pain for her grieving family. Sarah and Lorraine may as well have been talking to the wall. Minutes later, Satchwell's lawyer would confirm to the court that he intends to appeal his conviction. He believes he didn't murder Tina. A jury of his peers agreed unanimously that he did. He couldn't control them. And what Tina's sister and niece did from the witness stand in court number six on Wednesday was something he can never control either – they gave her back her name, the one she had before she met him, reintroducing the woman they knew before his malign influence infested her life. He believes he didn't murder his wife, Tina Satchwell. She belonged to him. He loves her. But, as the court case revealed, and her sister and niece confirmed, he couldn't allow a life for Tina Dingivan. When her maiden name was so deliberately introduced – no mention of his, it was a simple, but very powerful gesture by her family. Richard Satchwell holding a photo of his missing wife Tina at their home in Youghal, Co Cork. Photograph: Irish Examiner And perhaps, with those slight flickers of recognition, Richard Satchwell knows that too. There was little surprise in court when Judge Paul McDermott was told that the English-born, Cork-based lorry driver intends to fight on. He thinks he should not have been found guilty of murdering his wife and dumping her body in a chest freezer before entombing her in a concrete grave under the stairs in their home and then contacting her niece to offer her the empty freezer. Always thinking of others. Gardaí and Fr Bill Bermingham after human remains are found following the search of Richatd and Tina Satchwell's home in Youghal, Co Cork. Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision 'To think I could have taken that into my family home and used it. I mean, what kind of person can do that?' said Sarah, in disbelief. But the theatrically loving husband believes he should not be sent down for life because 'he never intended to kill her', said defence counsel Brendan Grehan, acting under instruction from his client. Furthermore, counsel said, Satchwell wanted it to be known that 'despite anything that was said in this trial, Tina was a lovely person'. You could hear people catch their breath in the back rows, where Tina's family and friends were seated. Satchwell's self-centred delusion still had the capacity to surprise after a five week trial. 'It's not right,' a woman in the public gallery loudly whispered as the court rose and the prisoner quickly exited, head down, looking at nobody. Despite feeling so strongly about the nature of his conviction, and being so keen to underline how he wanted people to know that 'Tina was a lovely person' (after lying about her being violent towards him and running off with their life's savings), he made no reaction when his barrister delivered his message for him. But despite all which was said during the trial, Richard wanted to seem nice in public about the 'lovely' woman he murdered. Self-serving until the very end. The details of the case have been well aired. It's the stuff of true crime TV potboilers. But the callous nature of Satchwell's cover-up and his co-option of Tina's grieving family into his sickening narrative of a heartbroken husband desperate for the return of his missing wife was laid bare by the emotional testimony of Sarah and Lorraine. Mary Collins, the mother of Tina Dingivin. Photograph: Collins Courts As Tina's mother Mary Collins listened from the body of the court, Lorraine said Satchwell 'stole' the precious time she would have had with her sister, time he also stole from others 'even before he murdered her by isolating and alienating her from her many friends when she was alive'. How could anyone who claimed to love his wife so much do what he did? 'I feel no sentence could ever be enough for the monster who took Tina from us.' What does a monster look like? A monster looks like a nondescript bespectacled little man in a rumpled over-sized blue and white striped shirt which hangs out over his navy trousers. He silently sits with his stubbled jaw resting on his fist, body angled away from the public and the witness box, head down. When told to stand for sentencing, he sticks his hands in his pockets and looks vacantly into the distance. Cowardly, controlling Richard Satchwell murdered his wife. Tina Dingivan's name lives on.
