The protection of human rights has always been at the core of policing. The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 in October 2000 served to formalise this in a way that had not before existed.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has developed programmes to ensure that all its officers and staff understand the principles of human rights and the obligations placed upon them. This is reflected in the policies, planning and practice of the Service.
We regularly review external changes in the legal interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights as well as the internal needs of those whose task it is to uphold the law.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board is responsible for monitoring the performance of the Police Service in complying with the Human Rights Act 1998. The Board’s Human Rights Advisors have developed a monitoring framework for human rights, which allows the Board to measure the Police Service’s performance against human rights standards. For more information about the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s role visit their website.