Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland Information

The Police Ombudsman's Office provides independent and impartial investigation of complaints about the police in Northern Ireland. Complaints against the Serious Organised Crime Agency, will shortly also fall within the remit of the Police Ombudsman's Office. The Office opened in November 2000, replacing the Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC). Its opening marked the beginning of an entirely new system for investigating complaints against police officers in Northern Ireland. Previously, complaints against police were investigated by other police officers. The Police Ombudsman's Office, however, has its own teams of professional investigators. Currently, about 3,000 complaints per year are made about police officers in Northern Ireland. These include complaints about use of force by police officers, and allegations that officers failed to do their jobs properly or were rude or offensive during the course of their duties. In addition, the Police Ombudsman investigates: all discharges of police firearms (including those used in riot situations) all fatal road traffic collisions involving on-duty police officers and any death which may have occurred as a result of the actions of a police officer. In most circumstances the Police Ombudsman can investigate only incidents that have occurred in the previous 12 months. However, there is no time limit on the investigation of grave matters, or where exceptional circumstances exist. As a result, the Police Ombudsman has investigated many complaints from the relatives of people who died during 'the Troubles' (the conflict in Northern Ireland during the final three decades of the 20th Century). We are also considering a large number of cases as part of the historic cases review of all Troubles-related deaths between 1968 and 1998. The law requires that all cases in which the actions of a police officer may have led to a death must be independently investigated.