On Monday February 21st, Dr. Ian Marder from the Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology organised a webinar on the subject of cultural change in policing. Over 160 people attended to hear Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon speak about her work on cultural change within An Garda Síochána, having joined from the Toronto Police Service last year. Prof. Claire Hamilton, Maynooth’s Head of Criminology, opened the event, speaking about the recent change from a Department of Law to a School of Law and Criminology, before introducing Shawna.
Shawna’s presentation explored the dynamics and features of police culture and the 2018 Cultural Audit of An Garda Síochána, before announcing that a second such audit would take place this year, in collaboration with Durham University. Shawna touched on the Code of Ethics, police training and education, and the development of a national decision-making model, as well as new policies and developments relating to promotions, apps, corruption investigations and the new operating model. She contextualised each of these as part of a ‘whole of service approach’ – a significant effort to change organisational culture that is ongoing within the Gardaí.
Two panellists followed Shawna: Dr. Aogán Mulcahy (Associate Professor of Sociology, University College Dublin School of Sociology) and Dr. Holly Campeau (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology, University of Alberta Sociology Department). Aogán spoke about the modern history of An Garda Síochána, focusing on various drivers for change, such as the range of scandals in recent years, the calls for new and more independent forms of accountability, and the strained relationship between the police and marginalised communities. Holly spoke about her research with the police in Canada, exploring cultural assumptions that officers may make about what the public expect from them and the implications for their attitudes and use of discretion. The session ended with a lengthy discussion in which attendees asked questions relating to gender-based violence, police training and education, police-civil society partnerships, community policing and many other topics.
In Maynooth, Ian teaches LW269 Policing, a compulsory, second-year module for undergraduate students on the BCL in Law and Criminology and for those who study criminology as a major or minor on the BA Arts programme. The final year of those undergraduate courses and the MA in Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice, also feature advanced modules on policing.