Powers
The statutory powers and responsibilities of the Commission are set out by the Police Reform Act 2002, and it came into existence on 1 April 2004, replacing the Police Complaints Authority. It is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), funded by the Home Office, but by law entirely independent of the police, interest groups and political parties and whose decisions on cases are free from government involvement.
Since 1 April 2004 the IPCC has used its powers to begin 353 independent and 759 managed investigations (as of 31 March 2009) into the most serious complaints against the police. These included deaths in police custody, shootings and fatal traffic incidents.
It also handles more than 4,500 appeals a year from members of the public about the way their complaint was dealt with by the local force, or its outcomes.
Read more about this topic: Independent Police Complaints Commission
Famous quotes containing the word powers:
“The powers that be are ordained of God.”
—Bible: New Testament St. Paul, in Romans, 13:1.
“I have come slowly into possession of such powers as I have ... I receive the opinions of my day. I do not conceive them. But I receive them into a vivid mind.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“And as the sun above the light doth bring,
Though we behold it in the air below,
So from th’ eternal Light the soul doth spring,
Though in the body she her powers do show.”
—Sir John Davies (1569–1626)