Northern Ireland: specialised teams to deal promptly with cases The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is an independent, impartial body for handling complaints of misconduct by police officers. In order to streamline the complaints process and ensure complaints are dealt with promptly, the Police Ombudsman has put in place an Initial Complaints and Investigations Team who can receive complaints over the phone, by email, via the website, or in person at their offices. This team can then refer the complaint to either the Core Investigations Team or in complex or difficult cases to the Significant Cases Investigation Team. South Africa: police complaints handling process The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is a statutory body mandated to receive and consider complaints involving the police. The 2011 Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act sets out the mandate and functioning of the IPID, including the process for complaints handling. In accordance with this Act on receipt or referral of a complaint the IPID must, within seven days, register the complaint in a computer-based register and the complainant must, within the same period, be informed in writing and, if practicable, by telephone, that his or her complaint has been received and that his or her complaint is being investigated by an identified investigator, including the name and contact details of the investigator. Ensuring impartiality States use a range of measures to ensure investigations into torture or other ill-treatment are carried out impartially and with integrity. On the legal side, some States have express provisions in their domestic legislation which embeds the principle of impartiality in law. Practical measures include making arrangements that investigators are procedurally and personally independent from the agency and individuals under investigation, for example by establishing autonomous divisions or units within services to handle complaints; or establishing external oversight bodies with responsibility for investigating complaints. Lebanon: anti-torture law lays down safeguards against conflicts of interest In 2016, Lebanon adopted legislation to implement UNCAT and OPCAT, establishing the National Commission for Human Rights which includes a specialised committee for the prevention of torture. As a safeguard against conflicts of interest, the law requires that members of the Commission and the prevention of torture committee will not be allowed to hold certain public offices simultaneously or within two years of leaving office. Mongolia: changes to the Criminal Code to strengthen impartiality To respond to concerns of a lack of impartiality with past investigations into complaints against the police, the revised 2017 Criminal Code provides that investigations into complaints of misconduct by the police will be led by the Prosecutor’s Office or the Anti-Corruption Agency. The Prosecutor’s Office will decide on a case by case basis which authority will be best placed to investigate. TOOL: Complaints and investigations 9/17