The Ombudsman has discretion to deal with public complaints and other matters that come to her attention under section 55 Police (NI) Act 1998 (the Act) outside the usual time limit, namely 12 months after the conduct of the member concerned.
In order to ensure consistency in approach across the Office, this guidance assists in the interpretation of the phrase “should be investigated because of the gravity of the matter or the exceptional circumstances” as used in the relevant parts of the RUC (Complaints etc) Regulations 2001 (‘the 2001 Regulations’), and how that will generally be approached by the Ombudsman and staff.