Royal Mail Group and criminal justice agencies urged to continue work to complete inspection recomme

Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) has urged the Royal Mail Group to continue its efforts to secure a streamlined process to allow its investigators to submit case files directly to the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.

A follow-up review conducted by Inspectors from CJI found that while both organisations had been working to take forward a recommendation made by the Inspectorate to simplify the file submission process in 2008, the recommendation had not been fully completed.

 

“Establishing a more direct process where files can be transferred directly from Royal Mail investigators to the PPS rather than via the Police Service of Northern Ireland would help reduce the risk of delay in progressing cases,” said Brendan McGuigan, Deputy Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland.

 

“It would also enable Royal Mail investigators and their line managers to more readily understand prosecutorial decisions. We welcome the positive steps taken to date to take forward this recommendation and would encourage both organisations to ensure its completion,” said Mr McGuigan.

 

The follow-up inspection review also welcomed the progress made to establish a Memorandum of Understanding between Royal Mail investigators and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to improve co-operation between the two organisations.

 

“Inspectors hope this work on the draft Memorandum will be completed imminently as it represents a positive development in the relationship between Royal Mail Group and the PSNI,” concluded Mr McGuigan.