A conversation with Dr John Topping and Professor Michael Maguire.

In this event, Institute Fellow Dr John Topping and Honorary Professor Michael Maguire will discuss their latest book, co-authored with Professor Tim Prenzler (University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia),Holding the Police to Account The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Transformation of Police Oversight (https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/institute-for-peace-security-justice/news/HoldingthePoliceToAccountDrJohnTopping.html), which offers the first comprehensive history and analysis of the Office of OPONI – considered the global ‘gold standard’ for police complaints systems.

Created in November 2000, it is the only functioning example in the world of a fully independent, civilian controlled model of dealing with complaints against the police – in this case the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). While much research has been devoted to the reform of the former Royal Ulster Constabulary and the creation of the PSNI, comparatively little attention has been devoted to the evolution and radical reform of the police complaints and accountability system in Northern Ireland.

The book fills that scholarly gap and examines the establishment of OPONI, set within debates about police complaints in the country across nearly five decades.

Drawing on the broader police complaints and accountability literature, the book also explores how OPONI ‘fits’ into the wider international context and what lessons and opportunities exist for other jurisdictions grappling with limited, evolving or transformative agendas around police accountability.

It also considers the challenges for delivering an effective and independent model of police accountability through the lens of OPONI as the global ‘gold standard’.

Biographies

John Topping is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Queen’s University, Belfast. His research focuses on policing and police reform in Northern Ireland, where he has spent nearly twenty years working across all policing institutions in the country in a variety of academic research, advisory and consultancy roles on areas such as stop and search, public order policing, police officer training, community policing and community safety.

Michael Maguire was the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland between 2012–2019. Prior to that he was the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice for Northern Ireland. Michael has written extensively on police oversight issues and has contributed to a number of Royal Commissions on policing in Australia.

Kieran McEvoy is the Chair in Peace, Security and Justice at the Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and a Professor of Law and Transitional Justice. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. He has authored or co-authored four books, co-edited eight books or special issues and over seventy journal articles and scholarly book chapters. His research interests include human rights, transitional justice, restorative justice, prisons, apologies, armed groups and the role of lawyers. He has been Principle Investigator or Co-Investigator on 10 UKRI-funded projects and is currently a Leverhulme Major Research Fellow (2023-26).

Description supplied by the event organiser.