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The Journal
15-06-2025
- The Journal
Gardaí have launched review into new 999 call-taking system just a year after its launch
GARDAÍ HAVE CONFIRMED that a new 999 call taking system is being reviewed to find where it is going wrong. Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon told a Dáil committee this week that a formal process to examine why 999 calls are going unanswered is underway. It comes after the Dr Elaine Byrne chair of the Policing and Community Safety Authority said that gardaí wasting time on frivolous call outs was because of an 'over-correction' in the wake of the cancelled 999 calls scandal. As revealed by The Journal previously , gardaí are facing a backlog of hundreds of calls on a daily basis across the country because there is now no triaging of calls. First reported in 2023, multiple sources said this week that the situation is unchanged. The Policing Authority carried out a major enquiry into the 999 call cancelling scandal . This identified failings in how domestic violence calls were responded. An Garda Síochána introduced a new Computer Aided Dispatch system known as 'GardaSAFE'. Along with that, members of the public calling the gardaí are directed through to 999 call lines – which means that all calls, no matter how minor, go through the emergency system. The practice came in for strong criticism from Dublin TD Tom Brabazon at a hearing of the Justice Committee. The reality of the overcorrection was laid bare in the hearing this week. Speaking at a meeting with Commissioner Drew Harris and other senior gardaí Brabazon said that the public's experience of the system 'was not a positive one'. 'People are very reluctant to ring 999, they feel that this is counter-intuitive. 999 has always been an emergency number, not necessarily for something that's potentially a quality of life issue like anti-social behavior, etc. Advertisement 'So the experience has been that people using 999 are not getting the responses that they require,' he said. Brabazon said he had a constituent who contacted him because she received no garda contact about a missing child call she made. Another constituent complained that there was no response to a criminal damage incident. 'The person rang 999 because they previously were advised by myself that was the course of action that they should take. There was no response. No gardaí showed up. 'He subsequently followed up with the local Garda station [but] the garda station had got no information on that particular incident. There was a complete gap, a complete breakdown.' In another incident Brabazon himself called gardaí last week when he witnessed an incident with a person wielding a knife which had caused significant distress to an elderly man. Brabazon said that no gardaí responded to the call after he gave the details on the 999 call line. Commissioner Harris said that the gardaí had received 'a lot of feedback not dissimilar' to what the TD had outlined following the rollout of the Gardasafe system and centralised control rooms. He confirmed there was a review underway 'to reassess this connection with the community'. 'Can I say it was done with the best of intentions in terms of having, in effect, a record, a recording of any exchanges with the public over the phone,' he said. Deputy Garda Commissioner Shauna Coxon that the review was underway to deal with incidents similar to the experience as Brabazon had described. Coxon said that the system was introduced because garda managers were having difficulties tracking responses to calls. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
18-05-2025
- The Journal
Gardaí must learn from shortfalls in Hawe case investigation, head of policing body says
THE HEAD OF the State's policing oversight body has said that gardaí must learn from questions raised about the investigation into the murder suicide of a Cavan family. Dr Elaine Byrne made the comments as part of an interview with The Journal this week about her role with the Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA) which she chairs. The body has replaced the Policing Authority and Garda Inspectorate. In August 2016 Alan Hawe, a vice-principal, killed himself after murdering his 39-year-old wife Clodagh and their sons, Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and Ryan, six, at their home near Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan. Now Clodagh's sister Jacqueline Connolly has said a review of the Clodagh Hawe case should be published to provide a greater awareness of the behaviours of 'family annihilators'. She has written a memoir called Deadly Silence to raise awareness of what happened. She claimed that the deaths were not initially investigated thoroughly by gardaí and she wants this approach changed. She has said that there was not adequate collection of CCTV and digital evidence as well as follow up interviews with 20 key witnesses. Byrne said that the PCSA has been focused intensely on a review of homicide investigations – which has been ongoing for a period of time. 'The Commissioner did initiate a homicide review where it showed that there were lapses in the investigation of a number of homicides. Advertisement 'But that is a constant focus for us, and it's on our agenda, and we will be asking the Commissioner [Drew Harris] more questions,' she said. Dr Elaine Byrne of the Policing and Community Safety Authority. Niall O'Connor / The Journal Niall O'Connor / The Journal / The Journal Byrne paid tribute to Connolly for documenting what happened to the Hawe family. 'I think that Clodagh's sister Jaqueline, she's done a public service in allowing the public inside that very tragic event, moment by moment, and I think society will learn something from it, and the guards must learn something from it as well. 'I have read everything, all those extracts of her book, and it is something that we will be bringing those issues that she's outlined are issues broadly match our concerns in general, around the homicide review that the Commissioner initiated, and one that we will have a constant focus on,' she added. Jacqueline Connolly, whose has written about the murder of her sister and her family by her husband Alan Hawe. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Last week, in an interview on RTE radio, Connolly said that a second investigation carried out by the serious crime review team, authorised by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris in 2019, highlighted what was missed in the first investigation. This included CCTV that had not been examined, digital evidence that was overlooked, and 20 key witnesses who needed to be re-interviewed using different techniques. Connolly said she has been told gardaí in training will be advised to gather evidence in murder-suicides as though it is a case that will be prosecuted, but she said she wants that rolled out to all rural garda stations because officers were not prepared to 'find Clodagh and the boys like that'. She called on Harris to release the findings of the serious crime review, for which Connolly has seen a summary, because she said it was important that the recommendations are seen by domestic violence institutions. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
