Five year legislative review
2. Officer of the Assembly
| What is the current position? |
The Police Ombudsman is a corporation sole and has a personal jurisdiction. The Office is not accountable to a board, is constituted and operates independently of the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). |
| What we propose |
We believe that the Police Ombudsman should be an Officer of the Assembly, with the Office’s budget allocated directly by the Assembly and accountability to the Assembly via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Assembly Audit Committee. |
| Why is it important? |
This would mean increased budgetary independence but also allow for scrutiny of the Office performance and use of resources by the Assembly Audit Committee. The Venice Principles[1] reference the need for ombudsmen to be wholly independent. The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman is an Officer of the Assembly, as is the Comptroller and Auditor General. Recent political and media commentary, including in the Northern Ireland Assembly and at Westminster, has questioned the accountability mechanisms in place for the Office of the Police Ombudsman. |