M Seneviratne

Policing the police in the United Kingdom

In the three jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, the specialized mechanisms for dealing with complaints against the police do not conform to one single model, and they have varying degrees of external involvement and oversight. This article examines various models for police complaints and reviews the three systems operating in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. It concludes that the success of the system in Northern Ireland (the civilian control model) highlights the inadequacies of the other systems, and presents persuasive reasons for extending this model to other parts of the United Kingdom.

Ethnic Minorities, Crime and Criminal Justice: A Study in a Provincial City

The issues posed by race and criminal justice in Britain are contentious, none more so than the longstanding conflict between the police and black people. Though this achieved its most dramatic exemplification in the riots of the 1980s, the warning signs had long been in place. Much has been written about the issue, and who, or what, is to blame. Factors such as the ‘lawlessness of black youth’, ‘deprivation’ and ‘police racism’ are just the three most prominent ascribed causes in a wide-ranging debate (cf. Benyon, 1986). Less dramatically, other moments in the criminal justice process — the decision to caution or to charge, for example — have also come under critical scrutiny.

Consumer complaints and the legal profession: making self-regulation work?

The Government in the United Kingdom has signalled its intention to take a more interventionist approach to complaint handling in the legal profession. The reason for this is the ever-rising tide of consumer complaints about poor service which has beset the legal profession in England and Wales during the last decade, coupled with the sense that the existing mechanisms for dealing with these complaints have failed to provide consumer satisfaction. The recently enacted Access to Justice Act 1999 therefore contains powers for the United Kingdom Government to intervene, if the professional bodies of the legal profession do not make suYcient progress with their complaints systems to satisfy consumers. This approach, which involves a `̀ background threat of coercive strategies’ ’ (Parker, 1997, p. 400) provides the profession with another chance to make self-regulation work. It also represents an augmentation of the model established in 1991, whereby the self-regulatory mechanisms for dealing with consumer complaints were subjected to independent oversight by an independent ombudsman. The reserve powers contained in the Act, if implemented, represent a further shift in the balance between the self-interest of the legal profession and the public interest. Such a readjustment is yet another example of the renegotiation which is taking place between the profession, the state and consumer movements, a generalised realignment which is changing the old order of professionalism (Paterson, 1996). This article describes and evaluates the present regulatory mechanisms for dealing with complaints from consumers of legal services in the United Kingdom and points to changes which the profession may have to make if it is to preserve its present regime of self-regulation. It assesses the likely impact of the Government’s proposals, suggesting the extent to which they will succeed in securing greater public con® dence in the complaints handling mechanisms of the legal profession. Although focused on the situation in the United Kingdom, the issues discussed have relevance for the regulatory structures of the legal profession in other jurisdictions. This is particularly so for some common law jurisdictions, where reforms to those regulatory structures are being debated.

Ombudsmen and prisoner complaints in the UK

This article describes the role of ombudsmen in the prison complaints systems in the regions that make up the UK: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. It assesses the different systems in each of the three jurisdictions, examines their characteristics, remit and the remedies they can give. It looks at their independence and discusses whether prisoner complaints should be dealt with by special mandate or generalist ombudsmen.

Ombudsman's section

The Local Government Ombudsmen deal with complaints of injustice arising from maladministration by local authorities and certain other local bodies. Their purpose is two-fold. They aim to provide independent, impartial and prompt investigation and resolution of complaints, as well as offering guidance on fair and effective administration. Their function is supervisory rather than appellate; they cannot decide on the merits of a decision, only the manner in which it was reached. There are three Local Government Ombudsmen for England, Mr Osmotherly, Mrs Thomas and Mr White, and they issued their annual report for the year ending 31 March 1999 in September 1999. It provides an overview of their work, together with statistical analysis of the complaints that have been dealt with. In addition, it contains individual reports by the three Ombudsmen concerning their respective geographical areas.