Policing
The PIRC for Scotland carries out independent investigations into the most serious incidents involving the Police.
On Sunday, 4 November, 2001 The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) became the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) The changes to policing came about as part of reforms to the service under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The Policing Board is an independent public body made up of 19 Political and Independent Members established to secure for all the people of Northern Ireland an effective, efficient and impartial police service which has the confidence of the whole community.
The IPCC have taken over from the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) in England and Wales which ceased to exist on 31 March 2004. The IPCC has overall responsibility for the system for complaints against the police in England and Wales. It aims to raise standards, cut delays, increase public confidence and transform the way police forces handle complaints against the police.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is an independent statutory body, established by the Garda Síochána Act, 2005. This Act provides for the establishment, powers and functions of GSOC. GSOC is responsible for receiving and dealing with complaints made by members of the public concerning the conduct of members of the Garda Síochána (the Irish Police Force) and has been operational since May 9th, 2007.
On 28 November 1995 Dr Maurice Hayes was appointed to conduct a review of the police complaints system in Northern Ireland. The report, commonly referred to as the Hayes Report, was produced in 1997. [NB. This is a scan of the original document and is therefore a very large file which requires Unzip software to download].