Officer disciplined following "inappropriate comments" to members of the public

A police officer alleged to have advised members of the public to contact a dissident Republican to help resolve a neighbourhood dispute has been disciplined following a Police Ombudsman investigation.

The Chief Constable of the PSNI asked the Police Ombudsman to investigate after the allegation was made at a meeting of Dungannon District Policing Partnership in February 2010.

The woman who had allegedly been given the advice, told Police Ombudsman investigators that a police officer had come to her home on 19 July 2009 after she had reported an incident to police.

During a conversation with the officer, the woman said she and her husband had mentioned the name of a neighbour who may have been a witness to the reported incident.

The couple alleged that upon hearing the name of the neighbour, the Officer said he knew that the man was a dissident Republican and advised that they should seek his help in resolving the dispute.

The woman also alleged that on 22 January 2010, when she telephoned a police station to report a second incident, she was again advised to seek the assistance of the dissident Republican.

Police Ombudsman investigators spoke to the officers involved on both occasions. Both denied the allegations against them.

However, the Police Ombudsman Mr Al Hutchinson, noted that following the meeting with police on 19 July 2009, both the woman and her husband believed they had been advised to contact the dissident. Mr Hutchinson concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that the complaint should be substantiated and recommended that the officer in question should be disciplined.

The telephone call made by the woman on 22 January 2010 was not recorded, and the Police Ombudsman concluded that it could not be substantiated.

He nevertheless reminded officers that they "must be mindful of the context of comments...and the way that those comments could be perceived by members of the public."

He warned that "inappropriate comments" made by police officers had the potential to "undermine public confidence" in policing.

 

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