§ Mr. StevensTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will arrange for copies of the 1990 annual report of the independent Commission for Police Complaints for Northern Ireland to be laid in the House; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeThe report has been laid today. It is the third annual report from the commission which was established in 1988 by the Police (Northern Ireland) Order 1987.
Detailed recommendations about the workings of articles 4 to 16 of the 1987 order, which provide for the handling of complaints from the public about individual police officers, were made by the commission in its comprehensive triennial review which was presented in a report to the House on 27 March 1991. In view of this the annual report is mainly a factual account of the commission's work during the year and an exposition of its role and functions. Nevertheless, it provides a valuable contribution to the important process of increasing public awareness of the police complaints system in Northern Ireland. I commend it to those interested in these matters and I am certain that this account of the commission's work will prove to be another important step in increasing the public's confidence in the police complaints system and in the commission's role.