An Garda Síochána has today published the findings of its Cultural Audit. The Audit was independently conducted by PwC on behalf of An Garda Síochána and responded to by 6,500 personnel across the organisation.
The Audit asked personnel of all ranks and grades for their views on matters such as policing powers, accountability, values, leadership and management, learning and development, and speaking up.
The Audit is designed to benchmark how people in An Garda Síochána believe they, their colleagues and the organisation as a whole meet desired behaviours as outlined in the Garda Modernisation and Renewal Programme, the Garda Code of Ethics, and best practice in the public and private sectors.
Commenting today, Acting Commissioner Dónall O'Cualáin said:
"This is the first time in the history of An Garda Síochána that a Cultural Audit has been conducted. It gives us great insights and information from our people. The Audit is an incredible resource for us. I want to thank our people for honestly giving their deeply held views of the organisation.
"The findings from the Audit will help inform the Garda organisation in providing the best supports to our people so as to improve the service we provide to the public.
"We have acknowledged for some time that we need to reform Garda culture. This audit re-enforces this. Modernising An Garda Síochána requires resources and organisational change. But of equal, if not more, importance is ensuring all of our people from top down and bottom up are behaving in a professional and ethical way, have the right supports to help them do their jobs professionally and efficiently, and can feel free to bring forward issues of concern.
"There are many positives from the Audit. The great pride our people have in An Garda Síochána’s central role in protecting and supporting communities is evident. The strong belief that policing powers are used appropriately, and that we act with honesty and integrity. The esprit de corps among our people. The benefit they see from the variety of roles and opportunities available to them within An Garda Síochána.
"It is also very welcome to see that people who have recently joined us are so positive about the organisation and perceive that there is a culture of equality, transparency, and speaking up.
"However, the Audit makes it clear that we have a lot more work to do to reform our culture to meets the needs of our people, which should then result in an improved service to the public.
"For example, as managers, there needs to be greater engagement with the people working for us so they have a clear understanding what is expected from them in delivering a professional policing service.
"I completely agree with the need expressed in the Audit to increase our supervisory ranks, particularly at Sergeant level. At a time when we are bringing in so many new Gardaí, we need Sergeants to provide them with proper supervision, mentoring and support. We currently have a competition underway to fill Sergeants positions by the end of the summer and also Inspector roles by the end of the year. Short-term measures are also being taken to increase the number of Sergeants operating in stations.
"But increasing supervision levels alone is not the answer. We need to ensure that those Sergeants and Inspectors are given the skills and systems to manage their people well, and they feel equipped to bring forward issues and concerns to their line managers. That is part of the culture change.
"On speaking up within An Garda Síochána, the organisation has improved from Garda personnel coming forward on issues, and we would encourage and support anyone who wishes to speak up in the future. Based on the Cultural Audit though we have more work to do in this area.
"To strengthen our approach, we are currently reviewing our Protected Disclosures Policy in conjunction with our colleagues from the PSNI and additional Protected Disclosure Managers were appointed in December 2017.
"In addition, we are working with Transparency Ireland in respect of training and assistance to Protected Disclosure Managers and the policy holder. Transparency Ireland is also assisting with the review of An Garda Síochána’s existing practices. Additionally, members of the Garda Senior Leadership Team have completed an Integrity at Work training course on Whistleblowing and the Protected Disclosure Act, 2014 facilitated by Transparency Ireland.
"On the promotion process, we are seeking a change in the statutory regulations governing promotions to bring increased transparency to the promotions process under our control and bring it in line with the promotions process undertaken by the Policing Authority for senior ranks.
"The Audit also raises issues in areas such as training, integration of civilian staff, policies, and reward and recognition that will need to be addressed.”
Next steps
Acting Commissioner O'Cualáin said the organisation would now take time to consider the findings of the Cultural Audit in order to give a considered and effective response.
Acting Commissioner O'Cualáin continued: "The Cultural Audit is a significant and detailed piece of work. The advice we have been given by experts in this area, which we have accepted, is that we take the time to consider the report and its implications before deciding on specific actions to address issues raised in the Audit. It has also been advised that instead of a "big-bang” approach with a huge number of changes that we focus instead on a few key initiatives that will be the most productive.
"The senior management of An Garda Síochána (Superintendents and civilian grade equivalents and up) have already met collectively to discuss the Cultural Audit. The Senior Leadership Team has also discussed it and will be meeting again to decide on how we address the result of the Audit. We expect to outline specific actions in around two months.
"This Cultural Audit gives us an excellent benchmark by which our cultural development can now be tracked. Our people have given us their views, it is now our responsibility to implement the necessary changes to reform our culture.”
The Acting Commissioner will be addressing the results of the Cultural Audit at a Policing Authority event on May 9 2018.
The Garda Cultural Audit report is available here and below or on request from the Garda Press Office.
Note
Methodology of Cultural Audit
The results of the Cultural Audit are based on 6,500 responses from Garda personnel to an online and paper survey that was live from October 4 to November 1 2017, and from 22 subsequent focus groups carried out across all ranks and grades.
The overall response rate of 40% is judged by PwC to be a strong response rate and is comparable to response rates of similar surveys in other police services. The response level was also generally in line with the demographic and rank/grade make-up of the organisation.
The purpose of the Audit is to establish a baseline of measures in relation to behaviours as set out under the Garda Modernisation and Renewal Programme as well as to establish a baseline in relation to the Garda Code of Ethics. PwC also sought to establish a baseline against its own methodology of cultural levers and reinforcers that can be used to achieve cultural change and reinforce the desired behaviours.
