Five year legislative review

Closes 3 Apr 2026

13. Decisions and Responses to Police Ombudsman Recommendations

What is the current position?

There is no statutory requirement for the police to provide the Police Ombudsman with a rationale for decisions made in response to a policy recommendation.

Nor is there a statutory time limit for response to policy recommendations made by the Police Ombudsman to the police or any other body in the Ombudsman’s remit.

What we propose

We believe that the legislation should be amended to provide for an obligation on PSNI and other bodies in the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to respond to recommendations made within a statutory time limit and to provide a rationale for decisions made in response to recommendations.

Why is it important?

Recommendations come from learning gained through our investigations and are intended to help improve operational policing standards.

Police in England and Wales must respond to an IOPC recommendation within a statutory timeframe (56 days).

Do you agree with our proposal?