Policing

Local community safety partnerships are now up and running in most local authority areas in a milestone for the government's new approach to community safety. Members have now been appointed to 34 safety partnerships and 31 have held their inaugural meetings at which they elected their chair and vic

A total ban on the use of scramblers in public places is to be introduced in response to the death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch. New regulations will close any gaps where scrambler use may previously have been legal outside of appropriate off-road settings, and enhance Garda powers of seizure to reduc

Aonghus Kelly has been appointed as human rights advisor to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Mr Kelly is a distinguished human rights lawyer who has recently played a high-profile role supporting the investigation and prosecution of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

The High Court has quashed an appeal concerning the revocation of an aircraft mechanic’s security clearance at Dublin Airport. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice Michael Twomey opined: “It seems to this court that the failure to provide Mr Doyle with the reason for the de

A training programme for Fiosrú staff has welcomed its second cohort of students at the University of Limerick. The two-year postgraduate programme has been developed by UL School of Law in conjunction with Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman, to support its staff learning and d

An Garda Síochána has formally established a new unit which will act as a single point of contact for co-operation with UK authorities on Troubles-related legacy cases. The establishment of the Garda Troubles Legacy Liaison Unit fulfils a commitment in the joint framework agreed by the

A special Garda operation targeting non-Irish nationals convicted of sexual crimes has led to the removal of 25 sex offenders from the State. Operation Moonridge commenced in 2025 and involves identifying and locating convicted sex offenders of interest to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB

The UK's home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has been criticised after naming the panopticon as her model for the British criminal justice system. In an interview with Tony Blair, Ms Mahmood — who served as the UK's justice secretary from July 2024 to September 2025 — said her vision in tha

Powers to intercept communications are to be overhauled for the first time since the advent of the smartphone, the government has announced. The Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill will update and replace the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation

The PSNI is set to publish mugshots of criminals who have been imprisoned for at least 12 months under a new policy. Many other UK police forces already release custody photos of people imprisoned for serious offences.

New legislation on Garda powers will respond to judgments from the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill 2025 was published just after Christmas and will modernise and consolidate the statutory basis for certain Garda powers, inc

An Garda Síochána is at risk of missing performance targets due to resource issues, training needs and delays in required legislation, according to a new report. The Policing and Community Safety Authority (PCSA) has published its assessment of the force's policing performance througho

Gardaí will be enabled to use biometric recognition technologies, including facial images, to investigate serious criminal offences under newly published draft legislation. The Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill 2025 provides for the retrospective use of bi

More than 100 gardaí are to be equipped with tasers as part of a six-month pilot programme. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has expressed deep concern over the pilot, which will be rolled out in Dublin, Waterford and Kilkenny.

Human rights lawyer Noeline Blackwell has been appointed as an expert adviser to Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman. The former CEO of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre will assist the watchdog as an expert adviser on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.