POLICE DON'T TRUST O'LOAN
Police don't trust O'Loan
Mrs O'Loan was brought in four years ago to head a new police complaints system as part of the Patten recommendations.
Since her appointment, she has endured a tense relationship with senior officers who have, at times, found her criticisms hard to accept.
In her most high-profile probe, she damned the investigation into the 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity and accused former Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan of a failure of leadership.
Now, she has found herself coming under fire in the poll carried out for her office by the Northern Ireland Research Agency.
Nearly 10,000 policemen and women were surveyed, with 40 per cent responding.
Officers were asked if Mrs O'Loan's investigators were impartial. Thirteen per cent believed she was while 44 per cent said she wasn't.
In another part, it is understood that 43 per cent of those questioned believed that officers should be allowed to complain about their colleagues.
Both the Ombudsman's office and the Police Federation, which represents officers up to the rank of chief inspector, accepted there were lessons to be learned.
A spokesman for Mrs O'Loan said: "There are findings in the survey which are encouraging and very positive and there are others which are less so. I know the Police Federation feels the same.
"For that reason, we had agreed that we go forward together on this issue. Indeed, we were waiting further consultation with the federation before making the document public."
The federation agreed both sides would be attempting to take lessons from the results,
"There is a need for the Ombudsman's office to reach into the wider police organisation and for the organisation to be receptive of what the Ombudsman is trying to do," he said.
"The Government must now put in place a robust method of overseeing the work of her office."
Mrs O'Loan was brought in four years ago to head a new police complaints system as part of the Patten recommendations.
Since her appointment, she has endured a tense relationship with senior officers who have, at times, found her criticisms hard to accept.
In her most high-profile probe, she damned the investigation into the 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity and accused former Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan of a failure of leadership.
Now, she has found herself coming under fire in the poll carried out for her office by the Northern Ireland Research Agency.
Nearly 10,000 policemen and women were surveyed, with 40 per cent responding.
Officers were asked if Mrs O'Loan's investigators were impartial. Thirteen per cent believed she was while 44 per cent said she wasn't.
In another part, it is understood that 43 per cent of those questioned believed that officers should be allowed to complain about their colleagues.
Both the Ombudsman's office and the Police Federation, which represents officers up to the rank of chief inspector, accepted there were lessons to be learned.
A spokesman for Mrs O'Loan said: "There are findings in the survey which are encouraging and very positive and there are others which are less so. I know the Police Federation feels the same.
"For that reason, we had agreed that we go forward together on this issue. Indeed, we were waiting further consultation with the federation before making the document public."
The federation agreed both sides would be attempting to take lessons from the results,
"There is a need for the Ombudsman's office to reach into the wider police organisation and for the organisation to be receptive of what the Ombudsman is trying to do," he said.
"The Government must now put in place a robust method of overseeing the work of her office."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/528
Published Date: 03-Feb-04
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