THE watchdog body which oversees RUC investigations of complaints made against members of the force has yet again urged a drastic overhaul of the system.
The Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC), issuing a series of recommendations yesterday, pointed out that community confidence in the police service depends to an extent on the perceived independence of the complaints organisation.
Seven key recommendations made by the ICPC to the Northern Secretary are aimed at reinforcing the body's total independence and impartiality, said Mr James Grew, chairman of the ICPC.
These recommendations have already been put by the ICPC to Dr Maurice Hayes, who has been carrying out an independent and wide-ranging review of the entire complaints system for over a year, and whose report will be published shortly.
The core proposals are:
. That the commission should be given the power to become involved in the supervision of investigations on its own initiative, rather than having to wait to be called in;
. That the tribunal system be modified to hear disciplinary charges directed by the ICPC against RUC officers, and this tribunal should not include the RUC Chief Constable;
. That the commission should have ultimate responsibility for deciding whether a complaint comes within the legal definition (at present the ICPC has no authority in deciding if a matter should be treated as a complaint in the first place);
. That the standard of proof required at disciplinary hearings should be modified, with the test of "reasonableness" replacing the present standard which is "beyond reasonable doubt";
. That "time targets" should be applied to ensure that disciplinary charges are brought and heard at the earliest possible opportunity.
Mr Grew who retires from the ICPC chairmanship in February after more than nine years in office, said one of the problems in Northern Ireland was that the police service did not have the' confidence and support of the entire community. It was therefore essential that the complaints procedure should reflect "transparent independence".
The recommendations emerged in the ICPC's statutory triennial review of the complaints system. It also reveals that more than 600 complaints were successfully dealt with in 1996 by the method of "informal resolution". In 1995 the figure was 565, or 18.3 per cent of all complaints completed.
The review also examines a number of alternative models for the supervision of police complaints.
The Northern Secretary, Sir, Patrick Mayhew, said his government will be considering the ICPC recommendations in the light of Dr Hayes's forthcoming report.