Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Written Evidence


APPENDIX 1

Memorandum submitted by the Office of the Oversight Commissioner

  Thank you for your letter of 10 February 2004, in which you requested information on the functions of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. As you may know, the Oversight Commissioner has maintained a focussed remit on evaluating the changes to the policing structures of Northern Ireland, as recommended by the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland.

  Although the Office of the Police Ombudsman predates the release of the Independent Commission's report, the Commission nonetheless made several recommendations which impacted on the Police Ombudsman. You will find our comments in that regard in our official reports, particularly reports numbers 4 through 9, and primarily in the chapters on "Accountability" and "Management and Personnel."

  Briefly, our publicly reported assessment of the Office of the Police Ombudsman is that she and her office are meeting the Independent Commission's objectives. The only other relevant comment I can add is that the Ombudsman and members of her staff have always demonstrated a high level of professionalism, courtesy and cooperation in any dealings with myself and my evaluation team.

  In closing I would also note that I have been personally impressed by the Ombudsman's commitment to extending knowledge and learning on law enforcement and civilian oversight. This she has done through several professional sessions open to the policing community ancLthe public, both locally and internationally.

26 February 2004





 
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