OMBUDSMAN'S ROLE ENTERS A NEW PHASE
Ombudsman's role enters a new phase
POLICE Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan yesterday ended a seven-year term in one of the most sensitive public offices in Northern Ireland and there certainly are very mixed opinions about how she dealt with the many issues which confronted her over this period.
Given the nature of her job, and the type of material she was investigating it was perhaps inevitable that Mrs O'Loan would end up on a collision course with some former and serving officers.
Her criticism of the police handling of inquiries into the Omagh bombing atrocity of August 1998 sparked a fierce row with the then Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan, who described the Ombudsman's conclusions as "distorted".
From that moment, Mrs O'Loan's relationship with the police and, in particular with the Police Federation, representing the officers on the beat, became more prickly and difficult leading to the Federation withdrawing all contact with the Ombudsman's office.
This apparent stand-off was reflected in unionist attitudes to her role and her combative style when presenting some of the more controversial reports.
Certainly, Mrs O'Loan's standing within the unionist community was not helped by the fact that her husband was a high-profile Ballymena SDLP councillor.
But she consistently and robustly defended her impartiality in the job and strenuously denied there was political bias in any of the criticism she made of the RUC and PSNI.
New Police Ombudsman, Canadian Al Hutchinson, former Oversight Commission for Northern Ireland, is expected to come with a fresh approach to policing matters and, within the official remit of the job, he must be given the chance to make his mark.
Interestingly, Mr Hutchinson has raised his concerns about what he sees as "the continual debilitating drip-feed of speculation, inquiries and investigation into past police practice".
Ahead of taking up his duties, he said "independence and impartiality" would be the watchwords of his time in office.
Mr Hutchinson has had a distinguished career in policing, serving 34 years in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and graduating through the ranks to become Assistant Commissioner.
Clearly, he is a man with vast experience and one who views policing in the present.
With a power-sharing devolved administration at Stormont and law-enforcement concentrated more towards eliminating criminal activity than the political corrosiveness of republican and loyalist terrorism, he will probably have a less contentious period in office than Mrs O'Loan.
POLICE Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan yesterday ended a seven-year term in one of the most sensitive public offices in Northern Ireland and there certainly are very mixed opinions about how she dealt with the many issues which confronted her over this period.
Given the nature of her job, and the type of material she was investigating it was perhaps inevitable that Mrs O'Loan would end up on a collision course with some former and serving officers.
Her criticism of the police handling of inquiries into the Omagh bombing atrocity of August 1998 sparked a fierce row with the then Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan, who described the Ombudsman's conclusions as "distorted".
From that moment, Mrs O'Loan's relationship with the police and, in particular with the Police Federation, representing the officers on the beat, became more prickly and difficult leading to the Federation withdrawing all contact with the Ombudsman's office.
This apparent stand-off was reflected in unionist attitudes to her role and her combative style when presenting some of the more controversial reports.
Certainly, Mrs O'Loan's standing within the unionist community was not helped by the fact that her husband was a high-profile Ballymena SDLP councillor.
But she consistently and robustly defended her impartiality in the job and strenuously denied there was political bias in any of the criticism she made of the RUC and PSNI.
New Police Ombudsman, Canadian Al Hutchinson, former Oversight Commission for Northern Ireland, is expected to come with a fresh approach to policing matters and, within the official remit of the job, he must be given the chance to make his mark.
Interestingly, Mr Hutchinson has raised his concerns about what he sees as "the continual debilitating drip-feed of speculation, inquiries and investigation into past police practice".
Ahead of taking up his duties, he said "independence and impartiality" would be the watchwords of his time in office.
Mr Hutchinson has had a distinguished career in policing, serving 34 years in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and graduating through the ranks to become Assistant Commissioner.
Clearly, he is a man with vast experience and one who views policing in the present.
With a power-sharing devolved administration at Stormont and law-enforcement concentrated more towards eliminating criminal activity than the political corrosiveness of republican and loyalist terrorism, he will probably have a less contentious period in office than Mrs O'Loan.
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/706
Published Date: 06-Nov-07
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