SCRUTINY of police complaint procedures is to be stepped up with the appointment of an independent officer to monitor the investigation process.
The Independent Police Complaints Council has appointed an officer to review all Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) procedures.
Human rights and social groups say that redress through CAPO seldom results in criminal prosecutions despite more reports of police brutality coming to their attention.
For the past four years, allegations of assault have made up half of all the cases received by CAPO.
In 1994, 51 per cent of the 3,090 complaints lodged with the office concerned allegations of assault.
Of those, just 14 resulted in criminal prosecutions.
Interviews and the taking of statements will come under particular scrutiny, while the collection of evidence, location of witnesses, scene visits and the conclusions of the investigations will come under review.
