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17/07/2012
New Police Ombudsman Pledges Independence
A new Police Ombudsman has taken up his position and vowed to keep the role independent.
Dr Michael Maguire steps into the post as head of the police complaints system in the wake of the last Ombudsman stepping own.
Al Hutchinson, who was only the second person to do the job after Nuala O'Loane, left the position early after a report found the independence of the office had been compromised.
Dr Maguire said "new policies and procedures" had been put in place by staff over the last year.
He said: "The police complaints system must be wholly independent if it is to have the confidence of the public and police."
But he added: "While we will listen to the views of others on improvements to the service we provide to the community, no-one should be in any doubt that the decisions and conclusions reached in individual complaints will be a matter for my office and my office alone."
Many of the problems raised by a Criminal Justice Inspectorate report last year related to complaints about historical investigations.
Dr Maguire said: "Good progress has been made and an important priority will be to commence once again investigations into historical cases and to ensure that the quality of those investigations is as good as it can be. We will also look at how cases are prioritised and the ways in which the office engages with the police, families and their representatives."
(NE)
Dr Michael Maguire steps into the post as head of the police complaints system in the wake of the last Ombudsman stepping own.
Al Hutchinson, who was only the second person to do the job after Nuala O'Loane, left the position early after a report found the independence of the office had been compromised.
Dr Maguire said "new policies and procedures" had been put in place by staff over the last year.
He said: "The police complaints system must be wholly independent if it is to have the confidence of the public and police."
But he added: "While we will listen to the views of others on improvements to the service we provide to the community, no-one should be in any doubt that the decisions and conclusions reached in individual complaints will be a matter for my office and my office alone."
Many of the problems raised by a Criminal Justice Inspectorate report last year related to complaints about historical investigations.
Dr Maguire said: "Good progress has been made and an important priority will be to commence once again investigations into historical cases and to ensure that the quality of those investigations is as good as it can be. We will also look at how cases are prioritised and the ways in which the office engages with the police, families and their representatives."
(NE)
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Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice, Dr Michael Maguire, has been named as the new Police Ombudsman. This follows Al Hutchinson stepping down from the role in January after criticism of the performance of his office, which handles complaints about the police.
24 July 2002
Police Ombudsman’s report laid before parliament
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Dr John Reid, has unveiled The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland’s first annual report before Parliament on Monday July 23. The report covers the Police Ombudsman office’s discharge of its functions during the first 17 months since it was established in November 2000.
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23 June 2016
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Two police officers have been disciplined after they failed to let their colleagues and a police doctor know that a woman had sustained a head injury, a Police Ombudsman investigation has concluded. The woman died from bleeding to the brain on 24 February 2014, the day after she suffered the injury.
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06 November 2007
Former Mountie Takes Over The Reins
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09 June 2016
Police Colluded With Loyalists In Loughisland Massacre - Report
Police officers colluded with loyalist gunmen who murdered six Catholics as they watched a football match, according to a report by the Police Ombudsman. In June 1994 two gunmen shot the victims at the Heights Bar in Loughinisland, Co Down.
Police Colluded With Loyalists In Loughisland Massacre - Report
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