House of Commons - Northern Ireland Affairs

Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Seventh Report

2 The Northern Ireland Policing Board

The Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland

5. Prior to the establishment of the Policing Board in November 2001, oversight of the police in Northern Ireland was the responsibility of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland ('the Authority') established under the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1970 to secure the efficiency and effectiveness of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.[3]

6. The Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland was established as part of the 1998 Belfast Agreement. It was charged with examining policing in Northern Ireland and, on the basis of its findings, bringing forward "proposals for future policing structures and arrangements, including means of encouraging widespread community support for those arrangements".[4] The proposals were to be designed to ensure that the "police operate within a clear framework of accountability to the law and the community they serve".[5]

7. The Commission published its report in September 1999 ('The Patten Report') which emphasised the importance of securing police accountability and simplifying the legislative framework which governed the respective roles of the Secretary of State, the Authority and the Chief Constable in setting objectives, performance targets and policy plans for the police service. The Patten Report recommended that a Policing Board be set up to replace the Police Authority for Northern Ireland. The principal function of the Board would be to hold the Chief Constable and the police service publicly accountable. It would set medium-term objectives and priorities for the police, adopt an Annual Policing Plan, negotiate the annual policing budget with the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), and monitor crime trends and patterns, and police performance in maintaining public order.

8. The report of the Commission made clear, however, that the role of the Board would go beyond supervision of the police service and extend to wider issues of policing and in particular, "the contributions that people and organisations other than the police can make towards public safety".[6] It stressed that the Board would be vital to the new beginning for policing in Northern Ireland.

9. The report also identified weaknesses in the Community and Police Liaison Committees (CPLCs) which were intended to provide local forums for discussing policing matters;[7] it noted that there remained several areas of Northern Ireland where it had not been possible to establish CPLCs; that there was a lack of participation in the committees by political parties; and that the public were not using them to convey their views on local policing matters.[8]

10. The report recommended that District Policing Partnership Boards should be set up as committees of district councils, with a majority of elected members and with independent members added, selected by the council with the agreement of the Policing Board. The Boards would replace CLPCs operating at district level, but not those functioning in single estates and small neighbourhoods. The role of the Boards would be to voice the concerns of the public, monitor the performance of the police in their districts, and to provide the focus for public consultation about the annual policing plan.

11. The Commission's recommendations to create a Policing Board and for district policing partnership arrangements were accepted by the government and implemented in the 2000 Act.

The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000

12. Part II of the 2000 Act, which came into force on 4 November 2001, establishes the Northern Ireland Policing Board and sets out its statutory duties, powers and responsibilities. The Board's principal function is to secure the maintenance, efficiency and effectiveness of the police in Northern Ireland.[9] In discharging this function, the Board must hold the Chief Constable and the PSNI accountable for the performance of their duties.[10]

13. The Board must also:

Monitor the effectiveness of the PSNI in counteracting crime, and encourage the public's co-operation with the police in the prevention of crime
Monitor the performance of the police in carrying out its general duties, in complying with the Human Rights Act 1998, and implementing the Annual Policing Plan
Keep itself informed about the workings of Part VII of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (police complaints and disciplinary proceedings)
Monitor the trends and patterns in complaints against the police, and recruitment to the police and police support staff
Oversee the manner in which public complaints against traffic wardens are dealt with by the Chief Constable
Assess the effectiveness of measures taken to ensure that its membership and support staff is representative of the community, and to assess the level of public satisfaction with the performance of the police and District Policing Partnerships (DPPs)
Assess the effectiveness of the DPPs and the measures taken by them to obtain the views of the public about policing matters.[11]

14. In carrying out its functions, the Board must have regard to the principle that the policing of Northern Ireland is to be conducted in an impartial manner. It must also consider the Annual Policing Plan, any code of practice issued by the Secretary of State, and the need to co-ordinate its activities, and co-operate with other statutory authorities.[12]

The Northern Ireland Policing Board

15. The Board has nineteen members. In September 2001, ten members of the Northern Ireland Assembly were nominated to serve on the Board, and nine independent members were appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, including Professor Sir Desmond Rea, Chairman, and Denis Bradley, Vice-Chairman.[13] Following the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly in October 2002, the Secretary of State was required to reconstitute the Board.[14] All 19 members were reappointed by the Secretary of State.[15]

16. The Board is an executive non-departmental public body funded by grant-in-aid from the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), and is accountable to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The Board's budget for 2003/04 was £7.96 million and it has a staff of 60.

17. The Board's principal activities include:

Consulting the community to obtain its views on policing and its co-operation with the police in preventing crime
Setting objectives and performance targets for the PSNI
Publishing objectives and targets for the PSNI as part of an annual policing plan
Appointing all officers of the police service above the rank of Chief Superintendent
Setting the budget for policing and monitoring expenditure
Overseeing complaints against the police and conducting investigations into complaints against senior officers.[16]

Finance

18. The Secretary of State is required to make annual grants to the Board for pension and other police purposes;[17] and the Board is required to place these grants and any other amounts received, at the disposal of the Chief Constable.

District Policing Partnerships

19. District councils are required to establish a district policing partnership for their council area.[18] Partnerships must submit, at the Board's request, a report on any matter connected with their functions.[19] The Board is required, with the approval of the Secretary of State and after consulting the district councils and the Chief Constable, to issue and publish a code of practice which provides advice to the partnerships on the performance of their functions.[20] Partnerships must contain fifteen, seventeen or nineteen members, including a majority of political members,[21] and the Board must appoint independent persons from among those nominated by the district council.[22]

Policing objectives and the policing plan

20. The Board must establish objectives for the policing of Northern Ireland.[23] Before doing so, it must consult the Chief Constable, the district policing partnerships, and consider any reports by the partnerships, views raised by members of the community, and the long term objectives for policing set by the Secretary of State.[24]

21. The Board must issue a policing plan before April each year.[25] A draft of the plan must be submitted to the Board by the Chief Constable.[26] The Board can either adopt the draft submitted by the Chief Constable or amend it after consultation with the Chief Constable.[27] It must also consult with the Secretary of State before publishing the plan.[28]

Economy, efficiency and effectiveness

22. The Board is required to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions, and those of the Chief Constable, are exercised.[29] It must review its performance and publish a performance plan, providing details about how its arrangements for continuous improvement will be implemented.[30] The Board must also prepare and publish an annual performance summary which assesses the Board's and the Chief Constable's performance.[31] Before publishing the performance plan, the Board is required to consult the Secretary of State and the Chief Constable.[32] Both the performance plan and summary are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General who is also able to examine the Board's compliance with its arrangements for continuous improvement.[33]

Appointment of senior officers

23. The Board must appoint the Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, and Assistant Chief Constables, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State.[34] The Board is able to call on any senior officer to retire in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness and, if required by the Secretary of State, to call on the Chief Constable to retire.[35]

Other staff

24. The Board is required to prepare an action plan for monitoring the number of women in the PSNI, the police support staff and the Board's staff, and, if they are underrepresented, for increasing that number.[36] If requested to do so by the Board, the Chief Constable must prepare and submit to the Board a draft plan for monitoring the number of women in the police.[37]

Code of ethics

25. The Board is required to issue a code of ethics, laying down standards of conduct and practice for police officers, making them aware of the rights and obligations in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.[38] The code is prepared in draft by the Chief Constable, which the Board can either adopt or amend after consulting the Chief Constable.[39]

Reports and inquiries

26. The Board must submit an annual report, which includes an assessment of its general functions, to the Secretary of State; and he must lay it before Parliament.[40] The Chief Constable is required to produce an annual report on the policing of Northern Ireland and submit it to the Board and to the Secretary of State. The Chief Constable must also report on any matter connected with the policing of Northern Ireland to the Board on demand.[41]

27. The Board can hold an inquiry into any matter which is the subject of a report if it considers the issue is grave, or there are exceptional circumstances.[42] If the Board decides to hold an inquiry, it must inform the Chief Constable, the Police Ombudsman and the Secretary of State.[43] The Secretary of State is able in certain circumstances to overrule the decision of the Board within 30 days.[44] The Board can ask a specified statutory agency or any other person to conduct the inquiry.[45]

3 The RUC was renamed the Police Service of Northern Ireland under Section 1 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 Back

4 A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland, The Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, September 1999, Annex 1 p 123 Back

5 Ibid p 123 Back

6 A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland, The Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, September 1999, para 6.10, p 29 Back

7 Ev 15. The Committees have been formed in different ways, some consist of district councillors, others are made up of independent members and some are mixed. They are often based in a village or a distinct geographical area or estate within a larger town. There are currently over 100 CLPCs operating throughout Northern Ireland Back

8 A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland, The Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, September 1999, p 34 Back

9 Section 3(1) and (2) Back

10 Section 3(3) Back

11 Section 3 (3)(b) to (e) Back

12 Section 3(4) Back

13 The political members were nominated by the nominating officer of their political party. The political membership reflects the balance of the parties at the June1998 Assembly elections: 4 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) members, 3 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) members and 3 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) members. Sinn Fein have chosen not to take up seats on the Board: See PB 2 Back

14 Para 2, Part I of Schedule 1 to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 provides that after a change from devolved government to direct rule or vice versa, members of the Board cease to hold office, but may be re-appointed. Para 3, Part II of Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act sets out the arrangements for appointments to the Board by the Secretary of State during direct rule; and Part III sets out the arrangements during devolved government Back