An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 13 Members of the Defence Forces taking part in a riot- and-crowd-control exercise with members of An Garda Síochána in Gormanston Camp. An Ordnance Corps EOD team putting their HOBO robot into action during an ATCP exercise. Defence Forces members practising their Crowd and Riot Control (CRC) drills for ATCP operations. Comdt O'Hara: How are these principles instilled into members of the Defence Forces? Col Lane: There is no point in having these guidance documents and regulations, in particular CO/D6 and DFR CS1, unless they are com- municated, and personnel are briefed on them, and regularly reminded of them. Every day, personnel that are on routine security duties are briefed on the basic principles governing the application of force, and there is an aide memoire annex in CO/D6. That is the minimum briefing guidelines required for personnel before being mounted for duty. In terms of application of the particular standard of behaviour that we require, that standard does not start with the NCO or the officer in charge, but with the individual member of the Defence Forces; a requirement to be aware of the fact: 'If I'm going to be using force I need to be confident not only in my firearm and weapon handling but also that the law is on my side, once I behave and act and operate within the law and as I have been trained.' In a situation where the use of force is necessary, the decision-making process should not be hindered, or impeded by an individual lacking confidence in knowing what is required in the legal application of the use of force. Comdt O'Hara: How are the principles applied and are they graduated? Col Lane: The principle of minimum force means that "no more force is to be used than is absolutely necessary to achieve the immediate military aim". The principle of prevention means that prevention must be the reason for using military force which must never be applied with punitive intent. The principles of justification and legal requirements mean that there must be justification for each separate act ordered by the Com- manding Officer. Any act carried out by the member of the Defence Forces throughout a situation must be justified with regard to the guidelines on the use of force and must fully comply with the law and with DF regulations. These principles apply to personnel in many situations; for example, from operating as part of a crowd-and-riot-control group in a pub- lic order situation to carrying out cordon-and-search operations in a wooded area. There are graduated response options in CO/D6 which include using firearms to discharge live ammunition, but it's not a series of indi- vidual options, each of which must be exhausted. Comdt O'Hara: Historically speaking, has there been any significant examples of our guidelines really being put to the test? Col Lane: There have been a number of cases, particularly when the Troubles were at their height, that found their way to the Special Criminal Court. Also, throughout years of maritime operations, NS ship's captains, on occasion, would have had to make judgements in relation to the employment of Boarding Parties while carrying out their maritime law enforcement duties. Comdt O'Hara: Is our use-of-force legislation still relevant or does it need to be reviewed? Col Lane: Since 1998 and the Good Friday Agreement the island has been at peace. However, in uncertain times it is possible in the future that we may have to return to the type of training and operations that served us well in the past. If so, the laws that we have, and the regulations that we have are sufficient to meet certain threats, and the current operations guidance documents that we have, should see us through. This area has been kept under active review by the Defence Forces. Disclaimer: The advice in this interview does not constitute legal advice.

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