Garda Síochána (Complaints) Act, 1986

Complaints to Board.

4.—(1) (a) A member of the public who is directly affected by, or who witnesses, any conduct of a member and who wishes to have a complaint concerning that conduct considered by the Board shall himself or through his solicitor or, in the case of a person under the age of seventeen years, through a parent or guardian or, in the case of a person who is mentally handicapped or mentally ill, through a parent or guardian or some other person interested in his welfare make a complaint in relation thereto orally, or send or give it in writing, to the Board at the office of the Board, to a member at a Garda Síochána station or to a member above the rank of chief superintendent at a place other than a Garda Síochána station within six months of the date of the conduct.

(b) A complainant who makes a complaint to a member under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be presumed, for the purpose of that paragraph, to wish to have his complaint considered by the Board unless, at the time of the making of the complaint, he himself or the person through whom he makes the complaint requests otherwise in writing.

(2) (a) On receipt of a complaint by the Board, an officer of the Board shall record it forthwith, together with the date and time of its receipt, furnish an acknowledgment in writing of its receipt to the complainant and notify the Commissioner of the complaint (unless it appears to the officer that the notifications under paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (3) of this section in relation to the complaint will have been effected within 24 hours of the receipt of the complaint).

(b) On receipt of a complaint by a member at a Garda Síochána station—

(i) he shall record it forthwith, together with the date and time of its receipt, and furnish an acknowledgment in writing of its receipt to the complainant, and

(ii) the member in charge of the station at the time the complaint was received there shall notify, or cause to be notified, the chief executive and the Commissioner of the complaint as soon as may be after such receipt and send to each of them a copy of the complaint or, if the complaint was not in writing, a copy of the record of it.

(c) On receipt of a complaint by a member of the Garda Síochána above the rank of chief superintendent at a place other than a Garda Síochána station, he shall—

(i) record it forthwith, together with the date and time of its receipt, and furnish an acknowledgment in writing of its receipt to the complainant, and

(ii) notify the chief executive of the complaint as soon as may be after such receipt and send to him a copy of the complaint or, if the complaint was not in writing, a copy of the record of it.

(3) (a) On receipt by the Board of a complaint or of a notification under subsection (2) of this section, the chief executive shall consider whether the complaint is admissible and the complaint shall be admissible if the following conditions are satisfied—

(i) the complainant was a member of the public,

(ii) the complainant was directly affected by or witnessed the conduct alleged in the complaint,

(iii) the said conduct would constitute an offence or be conduct specified in the Fourth Schedule to this Act,

(iv) the date on which the said conduct was alleged to have occurred was on or after the establishment day and within six months before the date on which the complaint was made,

(v) the application of this Act to the said conduct did not, by virtue of section 15 of this Act, stand excluded on the date on which the complaint was made, and

(vi) the complaint is not frivolous or vexatious.

(b) If the chief executive is of opinion that a complaint is not admissible, he shall so notify in writing the complainant and the Commissioner and shall indicate in the notification the condition specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection that, in his opinion, is not satisfied as respects the complaint and shall, subject to paragraph (c) of this subsection, take no further action in the matter.

(c) If the chief executive is of opinion that a complaint is admissible, or the Board decides that a complaint to which paragraph (b) of this subsection applies is admissible, the chief executive shall, as soon as may be, so notify in writing the complainant and the Commissioner and, if the complaint was made, sent or given to the Board, send to the Commissioner a copy of the complaint, or, if the complaint was not in writing, a copy of the record of it.

(4) On receipt by the Commissioner of a notification under subsection (3) (c) of this section, he shall, as soon as may be, notify in writing the member concerned that a complaint (the nature of which shall be specified in the notification) has been made against him by a specified person.

(5) It shall be the duty of the Commissioner and of any member (whether authorised under section 1 (2) of this Act or not), on becoming aware of a complaint, to take any lawful measures that appear to him to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of obtaining or preserving evidence of or relating to the conduct complained of and, in a case where the Commissioner proposes to take any such measures, he may postpone notification of the complaint to the member concerned under subsection (4) of this section until the measures have been taken.

(6) Nothing in this Act shall preclude the charging of a member with an offence notwithstanding that the conduct to which the offence relates could be the subject of a complaint; however, where a complaint has been made, sent or given under subsection (1) of this section in relation to the conduct of a member, the member shall not be charged with an offence relating to such conduct except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.