The unexplained loss of a pump-action shotgun from the Garda’s stockpile poses a grave security threat. Discovered in 2009, the firearm mysteriously vanished from the Garda’s custody only to be later retrieved last year. The shotgun should have been preserved securely in the law enforcement’s property and exhibit management system (PEMS), ever since its initial confiscation. Surprisingly, however, it found its way back into criminal circulation.
PEMS operates through a network of stores scattered across the nation, dealing with evidence, stolen and recovered goods which are then recorded into the system. All items are assigned a unique barcode and electronically linked to specific investigations.
Should a member of Garda reviews traditional or digital files connected to a case, a record of any tangible evidence relevant to that case should be present in those files. If these items are duly recorded in PEMS and stored appropriately, they can be accessed when necessary.
PEMS additionally ensures the continuity of evidence. As a consequence, whenever evidence is associated with a defendant, either to resolve a criminal case or to bring a case to trial, the Garda can provide incontrovertible verification that the item pertains to the case involved, and is not a similar, or identical item linked to a separate inquiry. Sound evidence chain records can also establish that the specific evidence has never been misplaced or tampered with.
A highly reliable PEMS system assists the Garda in reaching the necessary proof level to indict defendants for a wide array of offences, ranging from minor offences to heinous crimes like rape and murder.
Recognising that the security of evidence – narcotics, money, arms, among others, is critical for police work, the loss of a firearm from the PEMS system is extremely severe. This could risk undermining faith in the system, potentially even in the Garda, and future PEMS-reliant evidence may be scrutinised by defending litigators in court.
Regarding the specific case of the pump-action shotgun, a criminal inquiry is in progress to determine if any member from the Garda may have extracted the weapon for trade or distribution to another party. While it’s theoretically plausible that poor record keeping and management of PEMS items resulted in the loss of the gun, the precise mechanism of such an eventuality remains uncertain.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has invoked Section 41 of the Garda Síochána Act to submit a report concerning a firearm issue to both the Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, and the Policing Authority. This clause grants the commissioner the authority to convey to superiors any event or issue so grave it could undermine public trust in law enforcement.
This marks the second time Mr Harris has drawn on Section 41 recently. Previously, it was invoked over an incident where a Garda member had taken a bicycle logged in the PEMS system and lent it to an elderly local man in the Midlands in 2020, without prior consent.
The duration of the suspension that the involved garda suffered, before eventually being acquitted following four years of allegations, culminated in severe rebuke of the high-ranking Garda administration, including Mr Harris. Nonetheless, both incidents, the unauthorised loan of the bicycle intended to keep an elderly man active, and the potentially deadly shotgun, point to the potential permeability of the PEMS system if regulations are not consistently adhered to.