§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints have been received by the Police Ombudsman's office since its inception; how many complaints have been(a) processed and (b) upheld; how many PSNI officers have been suspended; what is the average length of suspension from duty of PSNI officers during investigation by the Ombudsman; and how many reports arising from complaints received and processed by the Ombudsman have been passed to the Director of Public Prosecution. [86457]
§ Jane KennedyThe Police Ombudsman has advised me that the number of complaints received since the inception of the office to the end of November 2002 is 7,362. The number of complaints processed and closed' is 6,106 and 1,256 complaints are current. The Police Ombudsman has passed 211 cases to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Chief Constable, who has responsibility for the suspension of any police officers, 115W has advised me that 11 officers have been suspended as a result of investigations by the Police Ombudsman. The average length of suspension during investigation by the Police Ombudsman is 21.6 weeks.
1Complaints are closed under categories listed by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabularies and "upheld" is not a category listed