APPENDIX 9
Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Superintendents' Association of Northern Ireland
RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BY
THE COMMITTEE
Chief Superintendent Wilson during the course of
his evidence to the committee on 20 October 2004 made reference
to correspondence the Association had received from the NIO (in
September 2000). The subject matter of this correspondence related
to the appointment of an "ad hoc" person to investigate
complaints against the Police Ombudsman.
At your request copies of this correspondence are
attached herewith. The originals are kept on file and are available
for inspection if required.
Letter to Superintendent Hugh Wallace, the Superintendents'
Association from the Rt Hon Adam Ingram JP MP, Minister of State
for Northern Ireland
I wrote to you on 12 September concerning complaints
against the Police Ombudsman.
Unfortunately, there was a typographical error in
paragraph 3 of the letter. The letter said that we propose to
appoint someone to investigate complaints against the police on
an ad hoc basis. What it should have said is that we propose
to appoint someone to investigate complaints against the Police
Ombudsman on an ad hoc basis.
I am sure it is clear from the rest of the letter
that this was an obvious error, however, I thought it appropriate
to bring this to your attention and apologise for the mistake.
27 September 2000
Letter from
Martin Dyer, Honorary Secretary The Superintendents' Association
of Northern Ireland to the Rt Hon Adam Ingram JP MP, Minister
of State for Northern Ireland
COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE POLICE OMBUDSMAN
Thank you for your letter dated 12 September in relation
to the above matter which was discussed at a meeting of our Executive
on this date.
The Superintendents' Association are content with
the proposals outlined but will closely monitor the effectiveness
of the system once it has been applied and if necessary correspond
further with you concerning it.
20 September 2000
Letter from the Rt Hon Adam Ingram JP MP,
Minister of State for Northern Ireland to Chief Superintendent
Hugh Wallace MBE, Superintendents' Association
COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE POLICE OMBUDSMAN
I am aware that the RUC and the Staff Associations
have expressed concern at which they consider to be a lack of
accountability mechanisms for dealing with complaints of maladministration
by the Police Ombudsman in investigating complaints against the
police.
This is a matter on which the NIO has given a great
deal of thought. Officials have considered whether the Assembly
Ombudsman or the Parliamentary Commissioner might have a role
in this. The former is not possible as policing is a reserved
matter. In relation to the latter, the Parliamentary Commissioner
Act precludes this as it excludes bodies whose primary functions
are investigative being added to the schedule.
We therefore propose to arrange for the Secretary
of State to appoint someone to investigate complaints against
the police ombudsman on an ad-hoc basis. The person appointed
could be a retired Senior Public Servant or a former Ombudsman.
Whilst the person would initially be appointed as a complaint
arises, if the need was such an independent could be appointed
on a more formal basis.
Such a scheme would be non-statutory, however, it
should be noted that there are already a number of tried and tested
non-statutory schemes. Such bodies include the Prison Ombudsman,
and the Adjudicator who investigates complaints into the Inland
Revenue, Customs and Excise and Contributions Agency. Discussions
with those charged with operating these schemes have confirmed
that their non-statutory status has not hindered their investigations
into complaints that have been made.
The Guidance on the Police Ombudsman provided to
the Chief Constable would advise officers with complaints of alleged
maladministration against the Ombudsman to refer them to the Secretary
of State for investigation. The Secretary of State would then
have to consider if this would be an appropriate course to take.
We consider this to be an effective and proportionate
way to deal with any complaints that officers might have under
the new system.
I should be grateful for your views in relation to
those proposals.
12 September 2000
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