Five year legislative review

What is the current position?

Currently the Police Ombudsman has no power to issue statutory guidance on the investigation of complaints about police officer conduct.

In 2016 the Department of Justice issued guidance on ‘Police Misconduct, Performance and Attendance, and Complaints Procedures’. Any change in the police misconduct framework will require updated guidance.

What we propose

We propose that the Police Ombudsman should have the power to issue guidance on the police complaints system and police conduct in consultation with DoJ, PSNI, Policing Board and other appropriate bodies. The Chief Constable and members of PSNI should be required to have regard to this guidance.

Why is it important?

The Police Ombudsman as the Office responsible for discharging the statutory duty to ensure an effective police complaints system should have the ability to issue guidance on how that system should operate.

This is the case with the Policing Board, for example, which is responsible for consulting on and publishing the PSNI Code of Ethics as the accountability body responsible for ethical matters.

Although the IOPC does not investigate every complaint about police conduct, it produces extensive statutory guidance to secure and maintain public confidence in the police complaints system in England and Wales.