Opinion: much has been made of the new garda uniforms, but the police force's 100 year old insignia is also in need of an update
By Brian Moss, University of Southampton
The gardaí on the beat are to set to get new uniforms in the coming weeks. While the garda will be wearing a new jacket, polo shirt, and trousers, it's the same old badge on the uniform. This mix and match represents a lost opportunity in the month of the Garda Síochána's 100th birthday as a complete makeover, not just a new geansaí, was what was required.
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From RTÉ Nine News, new uniform to be rolled out for all gardaí, sergeants and inspectors
Examined up close, the badge is replete with Christian influence, being shaped like a cross and containing triquetra, a symbol denoting the holy Trinity. In the century that has passed since its adoption, Ireland has removed the constitutional importance of Catholicism and added that of same sex marriage. The state's culture and society have shifted under the influence of James Joyce and the bishop and the Nightie incident, among others. Ireland has also acknowledged excluding and hurting cohorts of women and children and progressed to welcoming diverse ethnicities among its citizens.
All this has transformed both national and Garda identity. What is needed now is a badge to reflect that.
After all, the Garda badge is not just a badge. Two years ago, the Garda Commissioner described the insignia as more than a logo and being a symbol of authority, justice, fairness, bravery, and community. None of these items explicitly feature in the badge. Instead, he was projecting behaviour and functions onto it and distinguishing gardaí from the public they serve.
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From RTÉ Archives, Tom McCaughren reports for RTÉ News on the introduction of new garda uniforms in 1987
This idea of symbols signifying meaning, demarcating groups, and influencing behaviour is more than a century old. This potent role of symbols surfaced in the 2020 reaction by Northern Ireland police officers to a proposed badge change there. The PSNI badge visibly shows the community and justice aspects aspired to by the organisation. Ultimately, officers were reluctant to relinquish what had become a source of pride and reflected their genuine efforts to balance justice among historically divided communities.
Importantly, revising a badge by itself cannot convey full organisational meaning. Inversely, a new uniform by itself means little. The West Midlands Police uniforms, for example, demonstrate this. Designed by DHL, that company’s own dayglo yellow and red uniforms are far removed from notions of authority, control or the use of force associated with police. The point is that the West Midlands police uniforms’ origins do not undermine what they signify once on Birmingham’s streets.
In everyday terms, this means a police badge must connect with its uniform, encapsulating the police practices behind it. On this, the new Garda wardrobe misses the mark. Furthermore, research shows that police uniforms impact on public perceptions. It is anticipated that the latest Garda uniform change is intended to reflect this and move on from reports of uniform misuse over the last 20 years. Such incidents include the 2002 Reclaim the Streets incident (missing shoulder numbers), a 2017 cameo in a pornographic movie (visible handcuffs and jacket), or a 2018 house eviction in Dublin city centre (balaclavas worn).
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From RTÉ Archives, a Morning Ireland report on the Reclaim the Streets peaceful protest which ended in violence in Dublin in 2002
Police insignia and uniforms must therefore also connect with organisational culture. As to the nature of garda culture, an internal 2018 audit highlighted negative aspects, including widespread lack of supervision and garda reluctance to recommend the career to others. A new badge could refresh organisational pride and also counter the wider political discourse that continues to refer to the organisation in legacy terms as "the force".
Any case for changing the Garda badge raises questions about cost and benefits. Here, support for revising the badge comes from the Irish Probation Service, Police Scotland and Police New Zealand. All renewed their insignia in recent times. In doing so they were commonly looking to convey 'confidence’, ‘professionalism’, and ‘approachability’.
While the costs of revising their badges were largely kept low, the benefit of a new logo in the case of New Zealand has materialised as perceived closer unity between the community and its police. On this point, research evidence consistently shows that the police need community legitimacy to function properly. A new garda insignia is one way to realise this.
Revising a badge or uniform will not address the oversight, recruitment or financial management issues facing a police agency
Even still, some will oppose a new garda badge on grounds of history, underscored by the organisation's recent €500,000 spend on "commemorative" medals. Importantly, the Irish probation, Scottish and New Zealand police insignia revisions evolved existing designs into new ones, building on legacy.
This suggests that a complete break with the past does not have to be the only design option. Others may argue that the garda logo is "just" a symbol, implying it requires no change. If it is "just" a symbol, there can be little argument against updating it. If the badge is more than "just" a symbol, then updating it to reflect contemporary policing in modern Ireland is a pragmatic step in this centenary year.
Admittedly, as research shows, revising a police badge or uniform will not necessarily address the oversight, recruitment, financial management or other issues facing a police agency. For these, in the Irish case at least, it’s back to the drawing board.
Dr Brian Moss is a Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Southampton.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
