01/10/2008
PSNI Unhappy With Scrutiny
A perception among NI police officers that the Police Ombudsman's office is "biased against them" is being given as the main reason for a poor showing in a new survey of the way serving officers feel about the controversial organisation's role.
It has emerged that fewer than a third of police officers in Northern Ireland think the Police Ombudsman's office is doing a good job.
The independent examination of the attitude of PSNI officers to the complaints' system showed a quarter (26%) felt it did a poor job, but 43% of officers had mixed feelings.
Beleaguered Ombudsman Al Hutchinson described the results as "challenging" but insisted that there was a perception among officers his organisation was biased against them - and that this would have skewed the results.
On the positive side, the survey found 37% of officers believed the Ombudsman's office had improved the accountability of police, while it highlighted that 68% of officers considered the police should have the right to have complaints against police independently investigated.
The survey also found 62% of officers said the possibility of a complaint affected the way they did their job at least to some extent, and that 83% of the officers said a complaint prevented them from doing a better job.
Mr Hutchinson said he was pleased to note that overall, judgements of the job done by his office were more likely to be positive than negative.
"What is challenging is that officers are saying that they support independent investigation but also have a perception that we may be biased against them," he said, while insisting, "This is not the case - and the officers who have been subject to investigation are saying so very clearly," he said.
However, two years ago, the Police Ombudsman's Office learned that it has equal levels of support from both Protestants and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland.
According to the findings of an Independent survey in December 2006, over 80% from both communities believe that the Ombudsman's Office was helping to improve the quality of policing.
The survey also revealed that more than four out of five people from both communities also believed that police officers and complainants would be treated fairly by the Police Ombudsman's Office.
See: Community support Police Ombudsman's role
(BMcC)
It has emerged that fewer than a third of police officers in Northern Ireland think the Police Ombudsman's office is doing a good job.
The independent examination of the attitude of PSNI officers to the complaints' system showed a quarter (26%) felt it did a poor job, but 43% of officers had mixed feelings.
Beleaguered Ombudsman Al Hutchinson described the results as "challenging" but insisted that there was a perception among officers his organisation was biased against them - and that this would have skewed the results.
On the positive side, the survey found 37% of officers believed the Ombudsman's office had improved the accountability of police, while it highlighted that 68% of officers considered the police should have the right to have complaints against police independently investigated.
The survey also found 62% of officers said the possibility of a complaint affected the way they did their job at least to some extent, and that 83% of the officers said a complaint prevented them from doing a better job.
Mr Hutchinson said he was pleased to note that overall, judgements of the job done by his office were more likely to be positive than negative.
"What is challenging is that officers are saying that they support independent investigation but also have a perception that we may be biased against them," he said, while insisting, "This is not the case - and the officers who have been subject to investigation are saying so very clearly," he said.
However, two years ago, the Police Ombudsman's Office learned that it has equal levels of support from both Protestants and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland.
According to the findings of an Independent survey in December 2006, over 80% from both communities believe that the Ombudsman's Office was helping to improve the quality of policing.
The survey also revealed that more than four out of five people from both communities also believed that police officers and complainants would be treated fairly by the Police Ombudsman's Office.
See: Community support Police Ombudsman's role
(BMcC)
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Community support Police Ombudsman's role
The Police Ombudsman's Office has today learned that it has equal levels of support from both Protestants and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland. According to the findings of an Independent survey, over 80% from both communities believe that the Ombudsman's Office is helping to improve the quality of policing.
Community support Police Ombudsman's role
The Police Ombudsman's Office has today learned that it has equal levels of support from both Protestants and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland. According to the findings of an Independent survey, over 80% from both communities believe that the Ombudsman's Office is helping to improve the quality of policing.
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