Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland

{{Infobox Government agency

|agency_name = Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland

|nativename_r =

|logo = File:PoliceOmbudsmanForNorthernIreland.svg

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|formed = 6 November 2000

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|dissolved =

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|jurisdiction = Northern Ireland

|headquarters = 11 Church St, Belfast

|employees = 147 (2022/23){{cite web |title=Annual Report & Accounts 2022-23 |url=https://www.policeombudsman.org/getattachment/53cf19bf-d94e-413a-a782-20137fcb0def/ANNUAL-REPORT-ACCOUNTS-For-the-year-ended-31-March-2023.pdf?lang=en-GB&ext=.pdf |website=Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland |access-date=28 December 2024}}{{rp|61}}

|budget = £13.4 million (2022/23){{rp|35}}

|minister1_name =

|minister1_pfo =

|minister2_name =

|minister2_pfo =

|chief1_name = Marie Anderson

|chief1_position = The Police Ombudsman

|chief2_name = Hugh Hume

|chief2_position = Chief Executive

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|website = {{URL|https://www.policeombudsman.org/}}

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|chief3_name=|chief3_position=|chief4_name=|chief4_position=|chief5_name=|chief5_position=|chief6_name=|chief6_position=|chief7_name=|chief7_position=|chief8_name=|chief8_position=|chief9_name=|chief9_position=|parent_department=|preceding2=}}

File:Writers Square, Belfast, July 2010 (04).JPG

The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (OPONI) is a non-departmental public body intended to provide an independent, impartial police complaints system for the people and police under the Police (Northern Ireland) Acts of 1998 and 2000.

Office structure and legal remit

The law in Northern Ireland does not permit the police to investigate complaints made by members of the public about the conduct of police officers. These must be referred instead to the Police Ombudsman’s Office for independent investigation.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/32/part/VII|title=Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998}}

The office has a complement of around 150, about two thirds of whom are employed within the office’s investigative teams.

There are two main strands to the investigative work of the office – current and historical. Its current work involves dealing with complaints about the conduct of police officers during incidents which have occurred in the previous 12 months.

Legislation also permits the Police Ombudsman's Office to investigate matters involving police officers which he considers to be grave or exceptional, no matter when they took place.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2001/184/contents/made|title=RUC (Complaints etc) Regulations 2001}} These are cases in which police officers may have been responsible for deaths or serious criminality. Complaints being dealt with by the office include those alleging police involvement in murder, attempted murder, as well as conspiracy and incitement to murder.{{Cite web|url=http://www.policeombudsman.org/Publicationsuploads/Investigating%20the%20Past%20(web).pdf|title=Investigating the Past|access-date=14 August 2013|archive-date=1 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401022508/http://www.policeombudsman.org/Publicationsuploads/Investigating%20the%20Past%20(web).pdf|url-status=dead}} Most of these historical cases relate to incidents during the conflict in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1998 (commonly referred to as “The Troubles”).

Since opening on 6 November 2000, the office has dealt with between 2,800 and 3,600 complaints each year.{{Cite web|url=http://www.policeombudsman.org/Publicationsuploads/OPONI%2010%20year%20review%20report.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627142349/http://www.policeombudsman.org/Publicationsuploads/OPONI%2010%20year%20review%20report.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Developments in Police Complaints - 10 Years On|archivedate=27 June 2013}}

Personnel

The Police Ombudsman is Marie Anderson, who was appointed in July 2019, having previously served as Northern Ireland Ombudsman (2016-2019). Mrs Anderson's predecessor was Michael Maguire, who previously served as Chief Inspector, Criminal Justice Inspectorate Northern Ireland (2008–12).{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17616976|title=Dr Michael Maguire to be new Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman|work=BBC News |date=4 April 2012 }} Prior to that, Al Hutchinson, who had previously been Police Oversight Commissioner, took up office on 6 November 2007,{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6239612.stm|title=Hain appoints new PSNI ombudsman|publisher=News.bbc.co.uk|date=26 June 2007}} and retired in January 2011 following a series of critical independent reports.

The first Ombudsman for Northern Ireland was Nuala O'Loan, whose seven-year term in office ended in November 2007. She has since been appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7163301.stm O'Loan made dame in honours list] BBC News, 29 December 2007 and was subsequently appointed to the House of Lords.