Police Ombudsman under pressure
15 August 2011 Last updated at 04:21 ET Leaked report criticises Police Ombudsman's office A leaked report into the workings of the Police Ombudsman's office has outlined a number of criticisms over its performance. The draft CJI report, leaked to website The Detail, is the third review to raise concerns over the effectiveness of the body this year. Among the new criticisms are claims that All Hutchison has lost the trust of his senior investigators. The <a href="http://www.trading666.com/lv-handbags-lv-A-quality-handbags-f2-3-c3-9.html"><strong>wholesale lv handbags online from china </strong></a> report is with the Department of Justice ahead of publication. Al Hutchison has not commented on the report but has previously defended his office against criticism from other reports. The Criminal Justice Inspectorate report said allegations of police wrongdoing during the Troubles may not have been fully and properly investigated. The Police Ombudsman had requested the report from the CJI assessing the office's independence from the police after two previous investigations were critical of the body. In June, an independent review of the Police <a href="www.trading666.com"><strong>wholesale Cheap Replica Handbags from china </strong></a> Ombudsman's office by the chair of the Community Relations Council said Mr Hutchison's "weak leadership" undermined the effectiveness of the body. The Committee for the Administration of Justice also questioned the independence of the office and accused the Northern Ireland Office of interfering in the appointment of Mr Hutchison. Victim's campaigners have called for Mr Hutchison's resignation following the questions posed by the draft report. A spokesman for the Police Ombudsman's office said there would be no comment on a report which it believed was still in draft form. Unhealthy tension The chair of the Justice Committee at Stormont, Paul Givan, has not ruled out calling a special meeting to discuss the report and ongoing criticism of the Police Ombudsman, but also urged caution in reaction to its findings. "The report should be made public in full because I am conscious that things can be leaked and we do not always see the full picture," said the DUP MLA. "I think it is important on such a serious issue that we get the holistic view before people rush into judgements of the suitability of Al Hutchison continuing in his post." Mr Givan did, however, suggest that Mr Hutchison's involvement in investigating Troubles events was causing issues. "It does raise the broader <a href="http://www.trading666.com/others-t1-29.html"><strong>wholesale cheap newport cigarettes outlet</strong></a> issue of how do we deal with the past. There is no doubt the Ombudsman's office having a role in looking at past historical events is creating problems for the functioning of the office," he said. "We have the Historical Enquiries Team, we have the Ombudsman's <a href="http://rooyee.org/view.php?id=29065"><strong>Market Ills Give CNBC a Bounce</strong></a> office, we have the Attorney General, all looking at past historical events. "I think we need to pool all that together and have one particular body taking that forward and releasing the Ombudsman's office from looking into past events so that they can concentrate on assessing the police currently carrying out their job, as opposed to trying to analysis events that took place some 30 or 40 years ago. "The role of investigating past events when the RUC was in place, I think creates a tension which is very unhealthy for the Ombudman's office."
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