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Independent Police Complaints Commission





POWERS


The statutory powers and responsibilities of the commission were set out by the Police Reform Act 2002 , and it came into existence on 1 April 2004 , replacing the Police Complaints Authority which in turn replaced the Police Complaints Board in 1985 . Unlike these organisations, it has its own independent investigators, giving it the choice of supervising police investigations into serious complaints or independently investigating them itself.


COMISSIONERS


The seventeen commissioners are appointed by the Home Secretary for a five year period, with the possibility of a further five year extension, and cannot be former police officers. They are responsible for the general supervision of the organisation as well as the outcome of the particular cases that it investigates.


NORTHERN IRELAND AND SCOTLAND


The IPCC only 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 .


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