NORTHERN IRELAND POLICE COMPLAINTS BOARD

HL Deb 12 February 1979 vol 398 cc1091-2WA

Lord HYLTON

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In what ways and with what results the 464 cases under investigation by the Northern Ireland Police Complaints Board at 31st December 1977, have been dealt with; whether any of these cases are still pending; and whether they will provide a similar analysis of complaints made during 1978, with details of the grounds of complaint.

The MINISTER of STATE, NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE (Lord Melchett)

I understand that of the 464 complaints cases which were shown in the Board's Annual Report for 1977 as being under investigation by the Royal Ulster Constabulary on 31st December 1977, 56 are still being investigated. The remaining 408 were the subject of reports by the RUC to the Board, as follows:

Withdrawn by complainant	72
Police (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 did not apply	25
No charges preferred	288
Criminal charges preferred	11
Disciplinary charges preferred	1
Other (anonymous, repetitious, etc.)	11
Total	408

The Police Complaints Board has examined the chief constable's reports in 376 of these cases and has accepted his decisions in respect of them. In the remaining 32 cases the reports are under consideration by the Board. The Board has not yet made its Annual Report for 1978.