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.
— Senior Staff residential "retreat".
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