Crime and publicity

The media and the Garda make uneasy bedfellows, but building a strong relationship is crucial, writes Conor Brady

The Garda Commissioner, Noel Conroy, gives the impression of a mild-mannered man. Nonetheless, he has a track-record as a tough, determined crime detective. Less is more when he speaks, according to those who know him well.

He was understated in his remarks about the media and the Garda at the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors before Easter.

Commissioner Conroy was "surprised" on occasion to find how easily the media were able to gain inside information on the progress of Garda investigations. This could prejudice prosecutions, he believed. Nonetheless, he went on, the Garda appreciate the role of the media and their support and co-operation are important to the force.

The work of journalists and that of the police intersect in more ways than many people realise. Crime is news. But so too are public events, road-traffic, football matches, pop-concerts and so on. The police regulate these. The media report on them. They are the conduit through which the media receive the information they need and which is necessary if chaos is to be avoided.

Police and media-practitioners need each other. Most of this symbiosis is positive and without the potential for pitfalls. It would be the rare journalist in Ireland that does not deal regularly with the Garda. Most gardaí – and certainly those in senior rank or involved on outdoor duties – find themselves dealing with reporters, photographers, camera crews and so on.

But contacts between gardaí and journalists are not always benign. There is manipulation. There are dubious trade-offs. There are deceptions and there are misrepresentations.

The vast majority of gardaí are scrupulous about protecting the privacy and the confidentiality of the public with whom they have dealings. The average desk sergeant or detective will see and hear and learn many things about people, their families and their lives that will never pass their lips. Often they learn things about people who are prominent or wealthy. But the gardaí are generally discreet and conscious of their responsibilities.

Sometimes they are not. The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, believes that someone in the Garda tipped off the newspapers when one of his children was the victim of an attack. He went on to allege that some gardaí were being paid by news media for information. The gardaí and some editors denied this.

Personally, I do not think this is true, although it was the practice in the evening newspapers in the 1970s when I was a young reporter, to pay gardaí for "tip-offs". Crime was relatively rare and a call to a news-desk by a guard could make the difference between getting and missing a story. The sums were small. Usually a few pounds.

What happens now – occasionally – is more insidious. Some gardaí use the media, especially certain newspapers, as leverage in crime investigations. The trade-off may appear simple but can be complex. A reporter is given a nugget of information that will make a sensational story. In return, the investigating officers may convince a suspect that they know more than they do. This may trigger the suspect into making a mistake or showing his hand.

Some gardaí also believe that media publicity is helpful in the promotion stakes. There may be more perception than reality in this. But the spin given by a reporter – perhaps the allocation of credit for a successful detection – can be highly-prized by gardaí who may be going before a promotion board. The temptation can be strong to give a reporter an inside track or a "scoop" in return for some high-profile exposure.

Commissioner Conroy is concerned about the impact that unauthorised disclosures may have on investigations. I suspect that although instances of this may occur, they are rare. But what is not so rare is the passing of details to the media that – perhaps unwittingly – bring reporters and photographers into people's private lives at times of stress or grief.

I believe little of this is done mala fide by gardaí. Sometimes it is done in a genuine sense of helpfulness towards journalists. There is a recognition that they too have a job to do. And journalists can be both persistent and clever in winkling information out of even the most unwilling. I know. I did it often enough.

The Garda Press Office is almost certainly unique in these islands in having no professional media staff. It is run by "sworn officers" who are headed by a superintendent. Some of the staff have excellent intuitive media skills. But none has ever worked in a newsroom or a broadcast station. The PSNI media department, by contrast, comprises a mixture of "sworn" officers and media professionals. This model is followed in all of the British police forces and in all of the US police departments that I am aware of.

The office has generally done well in drawing its members from within the force. But they move on. The excellent Superintendent John Farrelly spent a decade building his skills and contacts as head of the office. But last year he was promoted to Chief Superintendent – and promptly transferred to the Traffic Corps!

Upgrading and professionalising the Garda Press Office would not, in itself, solve the problems. But it would be a start in countering the disturbing issues to which Commissioner Conroy has adverted. The force needs to up its game and build its skills in media.

The Garda Press Office is viewed by most crime journalists as an irrelevance in anything other than the most routine inquiries. A whole series of networks has been built between the reporters and the operational units. The wonder is that there have been so few instances of damage or hurt.

Conor Brady is Editor Emeritus of The Irish Times. He is a senior teaching fellow at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, UCD, where he lectures in modern media