As the new Northern Ireland Troubles Bill makes its way through parliament, we have responded to an invitation from the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee to comment on the draft legislation.
We have commented specifically on nine aspects of the legislation, welcoming the proposal that the Police Ombudsman will have the ability to request that the Legacy Commission opens an investigation, while recommending removal of the proposal that the Commission can refer a matter which falls outside its remit, and is potentially criminal, to this Office.
Requests for investigations
We have welcomed the provision that the Police Ombudsman is included in the list of public authorities that may request that the Legacy Commission open an investigation.
We believe this provides an avenue for victims and survivors and families to fully understand the circumstances of the events to be scrutinised and also to ensure the historical record in relation to those events is comprehensive. We would however note that a mechanism for a request for investigation by the Ombudsman must respect the wishes of victims, survivors or families, in particular where they have indicated that they would not engage with the Legacy Commission.
Referrals to the Police Ombudsman
The Government’s Joint Framework proposed that where the Legacy Commission finds evidence of potential criminality on the part of police officers which falls outside its remit, the Commission will refer that conduct to the Police Ombudsman.
However, as written, the Bill currently refers solely to serving PSNI officers. We consider that a “relevant offence” could only have been committed during the Troubles, which predates the formation of the PSNI in 2001. If this provision is to remain, further clarity is required on the definition of “relevant offence” and “member of PSNI” in order to consider the operational and financial implications for the Office of the issues.
In line with the overarching policy that victims and families are informed of the actions of all state actors involved in Troubles-related incidents, it is important that one single body should undertake investigations of all conduct in these cases.
Further, we do not consider that the potential for parallel investigations relating to the same event or conduct is reasonable, proportionate or fair for all those involved, including police officers.
If such cases are to be referred to this Office, we would be required to resource and fund specialist investigative teams capable of dealing with intelligence relating to National Security. This would impact significantly on our ability to investigate increasingly complex complaints about contemporary policing and adversely impact on the public’s confidence in the Office to deliver timely investigations. Successive Ombudsman have highlighted significant periods of underfunding for historical investigations, which has resulted in delayed investigations and caused upset and frustration to families and victims.
We recommend that this provision be removed from the Bill and that the Legacy Commission should investigate these historical cases.
Our full submission is available on the NI Affairs Select Committee website.