Five year legislative review

What is the current position?

At present, the Ombudsman has no statutory remit to receive or investigate whistleblowing allegations from serving police officers or civilian police staff.

What we propose

We propose that the Ombudsman’s legislation is amended to allow the Ombudsman to receive and investigate whistleblowing allegations from serving police officers and civilian police staff where those allegations relate to serious criminal wrongdoing or gross misconduct.

This expanded remit should be subject to a public interest test, enabling the Ombudsman to initiate an investigation where such an allegation has been received and it is considered by the Ombudsman to be in the public interest to investigate.

Why is it important?

Extending the Ombudsman’s remit to include such whistleblowing allegations would strengthen accountability, transparency and public confidence in policing. Serving police officers and civilian police staff are often best placed to identify serious criminality or gross misconduct, but without a safe and independent route to report such concerns, potential wrongdoing may go unreported.

Providing the Ombudsman with this function would ensure that such disclosures are assessed and investigated impartially and independently of the police, helping to protect whistleblowers and uphold integrity.

Including a public interest test would give the Ombudsman the appropriate discretion to consider each allegation on a case-by-case basis.

This change would bring Northern Ireland into closer alignment with best practice across oversight bodies in the UK and Ireland. The IOPC in England and Wales has the power to receive such complaints, and has a dedicated whistle blowing reporting line to enable police officers or members of police staff to report concerns of wrongdoing or malpractice arising within the workplace. 

Fiorsú, Office of the Police Ombudsman in Ireland, also has a power to investigate whistleblowing allegations.