Review finds that significant progress has been made but more work to do, with more than half the targets ‘at risk’. This is mainly due to resource issues, training needs and delays in required legislation. An assessment of An Garda Síochána’s policing performance throughout the first half of 2025 has found that 7 of 18 targets are reported as ‘on target’ with the remaining 11 ‘at risk’. The Policing and Community Safety Authority recognises progress in several areas. The Garda Síochána Operating Model became fully operational across all 21 garda divisions in the first half of 2025. The commencement of high visibility foot patrols in key areas around Dublin city centre is positively acknowledged and the large volume of international cooperation to disrupt organised crime and to increase seizures of drugs and weapons has been a significant policing success.

However, there are areas where further development is needed to fully deliver on the Policing Priorities and commitments made within the 2025 Annual Policing Plan. This assessment highlights significant concerns about recruitment and retention of gardaí and garda staff, management of garda resources, delays in the introduction of key policies and strategies, and performance management issues. The assessment is based on a wide range of engagement with garda members and staff at various ranks, as well as key stakeholders. It is also based on reviews and analysis of performance reports and data received from An Garda Síochána, offering an evidence-based reflection of policing activities and outcomes.

Key findings:

• The Garda Síochána Operating Model is now fully operational across all 21 divisions. This represents a significant milestone for An Garda Síochána.
• Recruitment and retention of personnel remain a significant challenge, with key strategies and plans to address this challenge (Recruitment and Retention Strategy; Strategic Workforce Plan; Training Strategy) not been produced.
• A Human Resource Information System (HRIS) to allow a detailed financial and human resources management capacity is still not in place.
• There was some good progress to enhance and speed up the recruitment process, as well as to increase the diversity within the organisation.
• The mandatory call-back rate to people who have reported domestic abuse stands at 77.2%. Positively this overall rate is above the 60% target, but concerns arise due to inconsistencies across divisions, with some demonstrating rates below the target.
• The recorded crime rates of rape and sexual assault (+8% cent to 863 in Q1 2025), and other sexual offences (+16% to 111 in Q1 2025), have both increased, relative to the same period of 2024. This can be indicative of increased awareness, greater confidence to report, as well as an enhanced appreciation of the efforts An Garda Síochána is investing in this area.
• There is continued success in identifying, targeting and disrupting organised crime, with large amounts of drugs, cash and weapons being seized.
• While An Garda Síochána has enhanced its cybercrime capacity and capability, it is still challenged in its efforts to keep pace with the consistent growth in this type of crime.
• An Garda Síochána still does not have an effective performance management system in place for any of their personnel, either garda members or garda staff.
• There has been no significant progress made in the introduction of in-career vetting and randomised drug testing.

P.5 Crime

• The high visibility policing initiative established in Dublin city centre is not included in the Policing Performance Report for Quarter 2 which An Garda Síochána provided to the Authority (Q2 report). It is important to note that this initiative, which has resulted in an increased visibility of gardaí on the streets of the capital, was made possible because significant numbers of new gardaí were assigned to the city centre and a defined approach to how and when patrols are organised was put in place. It will be interesting to see whether this level of visibility can be sustained over time and the impact it has on the public’s reported levels of feeling safe in the city centre, as well as a potential decrease in reported offences.
• There is continued success in identifying, targeting and disrupting organised crime, with large amounts of drugs, cash and weapons being seized. This is assisted by high levels of international cooperation between the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), along with Europol and with other police services.
• An Garda Síochána has enhanced its cyber-based crime capacity and capability. It is, however, very challenged in its efforts to keep pace with what has been described as ‘an exponential growth’ in this type of crime, which is also seeing other police services across the globe severely challenged by this type of activity.
• No significant progress is reported so far in 2025 in addressing Drug-Related Intimidation (DRI) and the grooming of children and young people into organised and drug crime. 

P. 27 Organised Crime being disrupted.

• The Q2 report provides data on seizures of drugs, cash, firearm and related arrests, highlighting the monetary value of each. While the PCSA acknowledges the importance of the monetary aspects, it reiterates the importance of adding weights of drugs seized to better understand the scale of the operations and the potential impact on society.
• It is reported that the use of the Organised Crime Threat Assessment Tool (OCTAT) is expected to increase with the national rollout of the National Criminal Intelligence Framework (NCIF). This is a tool that allows gardaí to determine the level of threat posed by organised crime groupings or gangs, highlighting their existence and allowing for a prioritisation of resources in terms of their disruption. This is currently only available in two regions. A total of 93 OCTATs were submitted from the regions/bureaus to the Security and Intelligence Division. 
• Demonstrably high levels of international cooperation exists between the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB), with Europol and with other police services. This has assisted in the investigation of drugs-related crime, money laundering and people smuggling...

P.28 At community level, attempts by organised criminals to engage young people in criminality and drugs intimidation being increasingly disrupted.
The PCSA, similar to its predecessor bodies (the Policing Authority and Garda Síochána Inspectorate), is concerned about Drug Related Intimidation (DRI) and the grooming of children and young people into organised and drug crime. Gardaí across the country have conveyed – during station visits – frustration in relation to what they regard as insufficient multi-agency work in this area, and the ability of An Garda Síochána to effectively tackle this issue. Young people’s vulnerability to grooming by organised crime gangs, the policing response and how it will disrupt this activity is expected to feature in An Garda Síochána’s Children and Young Person Plan. 

P.33 The development of the organisational capacity and systems to publish, interrogate and respond to data and information.

• An Garda Síochána’s Q2 report highlights the significant progress that has been made in this area, with the Garda Síochána Analysis Service (GSAS) producing dashboards and trend analysis on, for example, Operation Thor (burglary), Operation Tara (controlled drugs), Operation Táirge (retail theft) as well as hot-spot analysis.
• There is evidence, however, that these dashboards are being used to varying degrees in divisions around the country, with some divisional managers citing a lack of knowledge of how to use them effectively. An Garda Síochána is aspiring to be an information-led policing service, and it is therefore important to ensure that high-quality data to support daily operations is not only being produced, but also being utilised in a consistent manner by all supervisory ranks and across all divisions...

P.35 Table 6: Main Reasons for Ongoing Suspensions, N = 95 - includes: Drink Driving/Misuse of Drugs 20