House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee The Functions of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland Fifth Report of Session 2004–05 Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 9 February 2005 HC 344 Published on 23 February 2005 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £17.50 The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Office of the Northern Ireland Office (but excluding individual cases and advice given by the Crown Solicitor); and other matters within the responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (but excluding the expenditure, administration and policy of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Northern Ireland and the drafting of legislation by the Office of the Legislative Council). Current membership Mr Michael Mates MP (Conservative, East Hampshire) (Chairman) Mr Adrian Bailey MP (Labour / Co-operative, West Bromwich West) Mr Roy Beggs MP (Ulster Unionist Party, East Antrim) Mr Tony Clarke MP (Labour, Northampton South) Ms Iain Luke MP (Labour, Dundee East) Mr Eddy McGrady MP (Socialist Democratic Labour Party, South Down) Mr Stephen Pound MP (Labour, Ealing North) Mr Gregory Campbell MP (Democratic Unionist Party, East Londonderry) Mr Martin Smyth MP (Ulster Unionist Party, Belfast South)) Mr Hugo Swire MP (Conservative, East Devon) Mr Mark Tami MP (Labour, Alyn & Deeside) Mr Bill Tynan MP (Labour, Hamilton South) Powers The committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/northern_ireland_affairs.cfm. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Dr John Patterson (Clerk), Hugh Farren (Attached Clerk), Dr Aileen O’Neill (Committee Specialist), Tony Catinella (Committee Assistant) and Chryssa Poupard (Secretary). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerks of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 2172; the Committee’s email address is [email protected] 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 2 The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland 5 Review of the police complaints system 5 Statutory framework 7 Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 7 The Police (Northern Ireland) Acts 2000 and 2003 9 3 Progress by the Office of the Police Ombudsman 10 Establishing the Office 10 Progress of the Office 11 Case management system 13 Performance against targets 14 4 Public and police confidence 15 Police confidence 16 Independent oversight of the Office 18 5 Other Issues 20 Informal resolution 20 Mediation 21 Ombudsman’s remit 22 Police Ombudsman and young people 24 6 Conclusions 24 Conclusions and recommendations 26 Formal minutes 29 Witnesses 30 List of written evidence 31 3 Summary This is the first occasion on which the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has been the subject of scrutiny by this committee. The task of establishing the Office has been considerable, and we have been impressed by the dedication and leadership demonstrated by Mrs Nuala O’Loan, the Police Ombudsman, and her staff, in constructing from scratch a credible police complaints service in Northern Ireland. The difficulty of this task was not eased by the failure of the government to provide Mrs O’Loan with formal guidance until May 2001, several months after the Office became operational. We are seeking an explanation from the government for this lapse. Despite the progress made in its first four years, the operations of the Office are not yet fully satisfactory. Improvements can and must be made: x The Office is proceeding with a replacement IT system because the existing system has proved inadequate after only four years. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) must ensure that the Office has the resources and skills to procure and install a cost effective and fully efficient system with a reasonable life span. x The Ombudsman’s powers of mediation require to be streamlined to provide extra flexibility when dealing with complaints. This is likely to require legislation which we hope the government will consider and facilitate quickly. x While the Office’s standing with the general public now appears good, its standing with police officers of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is less so. We recognise that the relationship between the police and those ‘policing the police’ will always present very considerable management challenges. There is no ‘quick fix’ here, and progress is likely to be incremental. The managements of the Office and PSNI have taken steps to ensure sound communication. The Office must persevere in these efforts and, by punctilious regard to transparent investigative procedures of the highest professional quality, gain the respect and confidence of growing numbers of rank and file officers. x The effectiveness of the new policing arrangements in Northern Ireland depends, in very large measure, upon the main players maintaining excellent mutual co- operation. The relationship between the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Office could be improved. These bodies need to take steps to ensure that their working relationship is fully satisfactory at all levels. x The present arrangements for investigating complaints of maladministration against the Ombudsman should be given the opportunity to ‘bed down’. Ministers, as well as officials should invariably see such complaints. They have not done so in the past. We are pleased that Mr Ian Pearson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office, and the Minister responsible for security and policing, has given us a firm commitment that this will now happen. The Department should publish the number and outcome of such complaints in its Annual 4 Departmental Report as a matter of routine. A heavy responsibility rests on those concerned directly with policing in Northern Ireland to sustain and build up the confidence of the general public in the new policing arrangements. This will be achieved where all those involved in policing matters apply exemplary professional standards consistently to their work. Where standards slip, public confidence will erode. Nowhere does the responsibility rest more heavily for ensuring that the public have confidence in their police service than on the Ombudsman and her staff. We do not underestimate the difficulties of her task. This report highlights how much has been achieved since the Office was established in 2000; and how much remains to be done. We trust that when we next examine the Office, the achievements to date will have provided a secure and sustainable basis for further development. 5 1 Introduction 1. The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland was formally set up on 6 November 2000 under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (‘the 1998 Act’).1 Its principal function is to secure an efficient, effective and independent police complaints system in Northern Ireland, and to secure the confidence of both the public and the police in that system. The Office forms a key part of the new accountability arrangements for policing in Northern Ireland, which include the Northern Ireland Policing Board, District Policing Partnerships, and the Office of the Oversight Commissioner.2 2. Over three years have passed since the foundation of the Office, and the purpose of our inquiry was to examine progress made in this crucial initial phase. On 10 February 2004, the committee announced the inquiry’s terms of reference: x Progress towards developing a role for the Police Ombudsman since the Office was established in November 2000 x The performance of the Office in respect of its principal activities, and x The efficiency and effectiveness of the administration and expenditure of the Office, including its performance against key indicators and targets 3. We took oral evidence on two occasions and are grateful to all those who provided evidence to us. We paid an informal visit to the Office of the Police Ombudsman in April 2004, and we are grateful to Mrs O’Loan and her staff for the informative briefing we received. We wish to thank Dr Keith Bryett , Specialist Advisor, for his assistance 2 The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland Review of the police complaints system 4. Public complaints against the police in Northern Ireland were recorded and investigated by police officers of the Complaints and Discipline Department of the Royal Ulster 1 The Northern Ireland Office stated in evidence that it appointed Mrs Nuala O’Loan as Police Ombudsman in October 1999 (PONI 27). She took up her full-time designate responsibilities in April 2000. The Office of the Police Ombudsman was formally set up in November 2000 when Part VII of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 came into force 2 These bodies were set up following the report of the Independent Commission on Policing (‘The Patten report’), A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland, The Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, September 1999. The Northern Ireland Policing Board was established in November 2001, replacing the Police Authority for Northern Ireland which had been responsible for police accountability since 1970. The Board’s principal function is to hold the Chief Constable and the police publicly accountable for the performance of their functions and to ensure that the police service is efficient and effective.