Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998

52 Complaints – receipt and initial classification of complaints

(1) For the purposes of this Part, all complaints about the police force shall either—

(a) be made to the Ombudsman; or

(b) if made to a member of the police force, the Police Authority or the Secretary of State, be referred immediately to the Ombudsman.

(2) Where a complaint—

(a) is made to the Chief Constable; and

(b) appears to the Chief Constable to be a complaint to which subsection (4) applies,

the Chief Constable shall take such steps as appear to him to be desirable for the purpose of preserving evidence relating to the conduct complained of.

(3) The Ombudsman shall—

(a) record and consider each complaint made or referred to him under subsection (1); and

(b) determine whether it is a complaint to which subsection (4) applies.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), this subsection applies to a complaint about the conduct of a member of the police force which is made by, or on behalf of, a member of the public.

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to a complaint in so far as it relates to the direction and control of the police force by the Chief Constable.

(6) Where the Ombudsman determines that a complaint made or referred to him under paragraph (1) is not a complaint to which subsection (4) applies, he shall refer the complaint to the Chief Constable, the Police Authority or the Secretary of State as he thinks fit and shall notify the complainant accordingly.

(7) A complaint referred under subsection (6) shall be dealt with according to the discretion of the Chief Constable, the Police Authority or the Secretary of State (as the case may be).

(8) Subject to subsection (9), where the Ombudsman determines that a complaint made or referred to him under subsection (1) is a complaint to which subsection (4) applies, the complaint shall be dealt with in accordance with the following provisions of this Part; and accordingly references in those provisions to a complaint shall be construed as references to a complaint in relation to which the Ombudsman has made such a determination.

(9) If any conduct to which a complaint wholly or partly relates is or has been the subject of disciplinary or criminal proceedings, none of the following provisions of this Part shall have effect in relation to the complaint in so far as it relates to that conduct.

(10) In the case of a complaint made otherwise than as mentioned in subsection (2)(a), the Chief Constable shall, if so requested by the Ombudsman, take such steps as appear to the Chief Constable to be desirable for the purpose of preserving evidence relating to the conduct complained of.