Independent Police Complaints Council

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The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) was 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 could elect to manage or supervise the police investigation into a particular complaint or independently investigate the most serious cases itself.

The Independent Police Complaints Council was replaced by the Independent Police Complaints Commission on 1 April 2004.

1 Powers
2 Councillors
3 Northern Ireland and Scotland
4 External links

[edit] Powers

The statutory powers and responsibilities of the council were set out by the Police Reform Act 2001, and it came into existence on 1 April 2003, replacing the Police Complaints Authority which in turn replaced the Police Complaints Board in 1985. Like its predecessors, the Independent Police Complaints Council was completely independent of the Police.

[edit] Councillors

The seventeen councillors were appointed by the Home Secretary and could not be former police officers. They were responsible for the general supervision of the organisation as well as the outcome of the particular cases that it investigates. The council met on the second Tuesday of each month, in the Hurlingham Club.

[edit] Northern Ireland and Scotland

The IPCC self-regulation scheme covers 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.