Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Written Evidence


APPENDIX 8

Memorandum submitted by Mediation Northern Ireland

  I understand that the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is conducting the aforementioned inquiry and that the deadline for submissions is Tuesday 23 March.

  Therefore I am unable to make a full, written submission at this late stage.

  However, you may wish to know that my organisation have had a relationship with the Police Ombudsman's office since its foundation in 2001 and that we have provided a degree of external support to its development.

  A basic outline of our areas of interest is attached. If your committee should like to pursue any of these issues with Mediation Northern Ireland, I would be happy to respond.

23 March 2004

MEDIATION NORTHERN IRELAND

in association with

"FUTURE WAYS"

 (The University of Ulster)

Policing Programme, 2001-04

THE POLICE OMBUDSMAN PROJECT

  Purpose:   to assist the organizational development of the Police Ombudsman's office.

  Rationale.   The Police Ombudsman's office has been established as a mechanism for the accountability of police. To discharge this function, the ombudsman's staff need to:

    —    Develop and maintain a collective sense of civic integrity;

    —    A capacity to relate to the community in ways which are credible;

    —    An ability to engage with police in ways which are effective.

  Mediation Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman project will seek to support the development of this new agency by facilitating dialogue with its staff on a sustained and regular basis.

Themes

    —    Self Awareness:   attending to personal strengths and shortcomings in a stressful job.

    —    Culture:   the cultures relevant to policing in Northern Ireland.

    —    Civic Responsibility:   maintaining integrity in the face of conflicting pressures from across society.

    —    Mediation:   developing skills for conflict intervention.

Activities

    —    Staff Induction Courses.

    —    Mediation Awareness Training.

    —    Reflection Workshops.

    —    Senior Staff residential "retreat".





 
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