Operation Klina is expected to run to December 2020 with a budget of £1 million per year. Can the Chief Constable please confirm how many officers are working on operation Klina, what activities are involved in this operation to account for an annual expenditure of £1 million and why is it anticipated to run to December 2020?
Background
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for Northern Ireland made a direction to the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland following judicial comment made in September 2014 in the case of R v Martin McCauley when his conviction was overturned. He had been convicted on 2 February 1985 for an offence contrary to Article 23 of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.
In the course of the incident which led to his conviction, Martin McCauley was shot and injured and Michael Tighe was killed by members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. In allowing Mr McCauley’s appeal against conviction, the Lord Chief Justice stated that the destruction of a surveillance tape recording and misleading of the DPP by the Security Services and the RUC, “amounted cumulatively to grave misconduct.”
The referral by the DPP was under section 35(5) of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 which states: “The Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland must, at the request of the Director, ascertain and give to the Director:
(a) information about any matter appearing to the Director to need investigation on the grounds that it may involve an offence committed against the law of Northern Ireland; and
(b) information appearing to the Director to be necessary for the exercise of his functions.”
To secure the necessary practical independence to conduct this investigation, the Chief Constable of Police Scotland was appointed. The remit of the investigation was to carry out a full investigation into the circumstances of the concealment and destruction of potential evidence (said to comprise audio tapes) and into the withholding of information concerning these tapes.
Resourcing Operation Klina
Operation Klina commenced in 2015, and is staffed by 11 Police Officers working full time supported by a flexible capability to increase by 2 further Officers, when necessary. There are also 4 members of Police staff who work part-time on the operation providing administrative support.
Operational Activities
- Research and preparation of the situational briefing report for PSNI Chief Constable and Public Interest Documentation for the Director of Public Prosecutions - 6 months
- Gather and transport documents (approximately 14,500) from third party Government Departments. Scanning and indexing all documents into an organised and searchable format held on a bespoke stand-alone secure ICT system - 2 years
- Interviewing of the potential 200 witnesses commenced in 2018; simultaneous to the assimilation and reading of over 10,000 documents.
Operational Activity for Completion
Operation Klina is forecasted to end in December 2020, to facilitate the completion of the interview phase and the significant effort which will be required in the compilation of a Final Report, which will reference the large volume of complex material gathered from various Police Forces and HMG Departments at the earlier stages of the investigation.
Annual Expenditure
The cost the financial year 2018/19 was £853,000. The vast majority (93%) of the annual Operation Klina spend related to staff salaries (£792K in the past financial year), with the remainder being associated to travel, training and administration costs.