[Ammi]

....this is an interesting explanation of police accountability by the Deputy Director General Operations at the IOPC....It makes it very clear why it’s so important that these incidents and the use of force used is always held up for accountability....


‘The police have both extraordinary responsibilities and powers. These include powers that can impact on people’s liberty and even their right to life. If members of the public are to have confidence in the police (including confidence to provide the police with information to help with the fight against crime), it is crucial that they trust them, and trust that if there is wrongdoing or learning it will be identified and acted upon.

When we investigate an officer’s use of force, we often find police officers act appropriately and there were no concerns.

In some cases, we identify serious issues where force was used too quickly, disproportionately to the threat faced or without reasonable justification, or occasionally that non-lethal tactics were overlooked.

This inappropriate use of force is a concern for the public and it is why we successfully campaigned for police forces to record all uses of force by their officers.‘