Independent Police Complaints Authority

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The Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA) will be a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. It will be allowed to manage or supervise the police investigation into a particular complaint or investigate the most serious cases itself.

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[edit] Powers

The statutory powers and responsibilities of the commission are set out by the Police Reform Bill 2007, and it is expected replace the Independent Police Complaints Commission on 1 April 2009, which replaced the Independent Police Complaints Council on 1 April 2004, which replaced the Police Complaints Authority, which replaced the Police Complaints Board in 1985. Like its predecessors, the Independent Police Complaints Authority will be completely independent of the Police.

[edit] Authority Members

Members of Independent Police Complaints Authority will be drawn from all sections of society. Five will be nominated by the Home Secretary on behalf of the public, five will represent the Association of Chief Police Officers, five elected by members of the Police Federation of England and Wales, five by the National Black Police Association and five will be nominated by the Law Society, the body that represents solicitors, barristers and judges in England and Wales.

[edit] Northern Ireland and Scotland

The IPCA self-regulation scheme will cover England and Wales; oversight of the police complaints system in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, and in Scotland is the responsibility of the Procurator Fiscal, part of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

[edit] External links