Al Hutchinson is a former
RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
Assistant Commissioner, who served as the
Police Oversight Commissioner in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, who in November 2007 became the second
Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (OPONI; ga, Ombudsman Póilíní do Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Owersman fur tha Polis o Norlin Airlann'') is a non-departmental public body intended to provide an independent, im ...
.
A graduate of
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
and
Queen's University, Belfast
, mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back?
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, Hutchinson served in the Office of the Oversight Commissioner, Tom Constantine, who was charged with overseeing the
Patten Reforms of the
RUC, from 2001 until Constantine's retirement. In January 2004 until the completion of the Oversight in May 2007 Hutchinson served as Oversight Commissioner.
On 26 June 2007 Hutchinson was announced as the successor to
Nuala O'Loan
Nuala Patricia O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan, (born 20 December 1951), known between 2007 and 2009 as Dame Nuala O'Loan, is a noted public figure in Northern Ireland. She was the first Police Ombudsman from 1999 to 2007. In July 2009, it was announc ...
as Police Ombudsman, and took up the office on 6 November 2007.
In June 2011, his performance was criticized by the Committee on the Administration for Justice (CAJ). In September 2011, Hutchinson was criticised in a report by the Criminal Justice Inspectorate. The report branded the organisation's management as "dysfunctional", uncovered a major split in its staff, and found Hutchinson had lost the trust of senior colleagues. It recommended that the ombudsman's office should be suspended from investigating historic murders because of a "lowering of independence" in the office. He resigned in January 2012.
In 2012, the Belfast High Court quashed the Ombudsman report's findings on the
Loughinisland massacre
The Loughinisland massacre O'Brien, Brendan. ''The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin''. Syracuse University Press, 1999. Page 314. took place on 18 June 1994 in the small village of Loughinisland, County Down, Northern Ireland. Members of the U ...
. Hutchinson was replaced by
Michael Maguire, who ordered a new inquiry.
"Legal move in Loughinisland court case"
. BBC News. 20 February 2012.
See also
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...
References
External links
BBC News report
British High Commission, Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Al
Living people
Ombudsmen in Northern Ireland
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers
Carleton University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)