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Majority of Police Ombudsman complainants satisfied with being treated with respect

Date published: 05 June 2025

Topics: Crime and justice

New official statistics published today by NISRA statisticians in the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland present findings from their Annual Complainant Satisfaction Survey for the 2024/25 financial year.

The survey, which has been conducted in various forms since 2001, provides valuable insights into how complainants perceive the service they received from the Police Ombudsman's Office.

Key findings:

  • 81% of complainants who spoke to Ombudsman staff reported being treated with respect, while 65% felt they were treated fairly
  • 79% found staff easy to understand and 65% considered staff knowledgeable when handling their cases
  • 51% of complainants would contact the Office again if they had a new complaint about the police
  • Complainants were more satisfied with how clearly the complaints process was explained (45%) and the response time after making their complaint (42%)
  • Areas with higher dissatisfaction included the manner in which complaints were treated (54%), the overall time to resolve complaints (49%), and the advice received from the Office (48%)
  • The survey had a 14% response rate, with 338 questionnaires returned from 2,425 issued during 2024/25 - a slight increase from the previous year's 13% response rate

About the publication

The full report includes detailed analysis of complainant perceptions of Ombudsman staff, satisfaction levels with various aspects of the complaints process, complainants' understanding and acceptance of final decisions, and views on independence of the Office. The publication contains comprehensive data tables comparing results with previous years since 2015/16, noting that data should be interpreted carefully due to response rate variations and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations.

Further Information:

Read the full report: Annual Report - Complainant satisfaction with services provided by the Police Ombudsman's Office, 2024/25

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