In any organisation, different roles require different skill sets, aptitudes and abilities — meaning different types of people. So the Irish Defence Forces, for instance, like most armies, operates a cadet system for officers. People don’t simply join as a private and work their way up to officer rank; they enter a parallel and interconnected, but nonetheless distinct, programme that teaches them the proficiencies needed.
This is not to say that the role of army cadet is better or more worthy than that of private; just that each needs specific abilities. Isn’t it time to consider something similar for detectives within An Garda Siochana?
According to the Citizens Information Board, detectives form about 2,000 of the 14,000-plus garda force. Although their job is markedly different from that of a “patrol” officer — one could almost call it a separate occupation — they begin their working lives in the exact same way.
Every garda joins the force as a trainee. They spend 22 weeks in Templemore, followed by supervised “work placement” at a station, then have more college training. New gardai must spend at least three years on “normal uniformed policing duties” before they can apply for posts in specialist areas. According to the garda press office, members apply to become detectives via a process of interviews as vacancies arise. Successful candidates then attend the crime training faculty in Templemore, which runs courses in disciplines such as crime scene investigation and specialist interviewing.
“The aim of the faculty is to train and develop detective personnel at supervisory, tactical leadership and strategic management levels,” says the press office. “It is concerned with the identification of competency portfolios for each role, rank and specialism, and the development of training and development interventions to ensure that all detective personnel are equipped with the appropriate knowledge and skills.”
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All of which sounds fine, but wouldn’t it be better if these officers were getting such specialist knowledge from day one of their training? More to the point, if those most suited to the job of detective were identified early, their innate ability could be nurtured and perfected from the start.
Common sense suggests that different positions within the garda force demand specialised talents and qualities. A member of the emergency response unit, for instance, needs proficiency with weapons and 20-20 vision, and must be physically fit and technically adept. A member of the riot squad has to be physically and mentally tough, and morally courageous. Other officers need computer skills, or sensitivity to victims.
I once read an interview with a retired detective from an American city who said the three most vital qualities a person in his job needed were a keen intuition, a curious and patient mind, and excellent interrogation skills. To this list we can add other characteristics, such as intelligence; ease with forensic science and criminal psychology; an ability to collate information, reduce it to a precis and sift through it to identify key points; an aptitude for making connections involving people, dates and events; and an instinctive insight into human nature, or what makes people do what they do.
Some of these skills can be taught, others are innate. But all are central to the job of detective, and many are specific to it.
In truth, the idea of a cadet-style training programme is not usual in other police forces. Our nearest neighbour, for instance, operates on similar lines to the gardai. According to the Police Federation of England and Wales, all detectives begin life as a constable and progress through the ranks. Although police community support officers do come straight from civilian life, they are “non-warranted” and don’t have powers of arrest.
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However, a cadet system within the gardai would identify and upskill those best suited to be detectives. It would expedite the production of top-quality investigators. Of course, they’d also be taught how to prevent crime and arrest criminals, direct traffic, marshal crowds at matches and all the other quotidian duties of the “beat cop”. This would be no privileged rank of student princes — these would continue to be gardai with lots of real-life experience.
But why waste a minimum of three years working as a patrol officer if your talents and ambitions lie elsewhere? Why send specialists out to pound Raymond Chandler’s mean streets when they could be specialising in Sherlock Holmes-style deductions instead?
Darragh McManus is a journalist and author. Cold! Steel! Justice!!!, his ebook, is available at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
Send your ideas on this week’s think tank or submissions for future think tanks to: ireland@sunday-times.ie