Courtney Marsh (2022). Irish Policing: Culture, Challenges, and Change in an Garda Síochána

Abstract

Whilst there have been many books written concerning police organisational culture and the issues that exist around this concept, Marsh’s work is perhaps the only one that examines the organisational culture of An Garda Síochána (Garda), which is Ireland’s National Policing Organisation. It does this by using document analysis to explore key recent tribunals and reports of inquiry into the police in Ireland. These cover a period of 30 years, and this analysis is done to examine how the organisation’s culture can be identified and how this can affect policing practices. In the process she has produced an insightful and detailed account which joins the growing policing scholarship concerning the Irish Republic as well as the continuing debate concerning police organisational culture. The key aim of this book is to help the reader to understand what the culture of the Garda is, and how this in turn impacts relations not only within the organisation itself, but also with the communities with whom the Garda work. In addition to this, the book also seeks to ascertain where Ireland positions itself in the broader world of police organisational culture.