Page 36 - The police annual report 2016 annual report 2016

36 THE POLICE, ANNUAL REPORT 2016
The eld steering by the National Police Board's legality control has concentrated, within the framework of the National Police Board's steering system, on topics in the pur- view of legality control, while the substance units are responsible for the general policing steering within their jurisdictions.
The inspection activities and supervision systems have allowed the National Police Board's legality control to maintain a situa- tion awareness related to legality control and has played its part to ensure that the highest police leadership is aware of the situation of the legality control.
Compared to the previous observation year 2015, there were no signi cant changes in the number of legality control matters. In 2016, a total of 479 administrative complaints regarding police operations (a total of 480 in 2015) or other written expressions of dissatis- faction with the police were submitted to the National Police Board, which were handled by the National Police Board or forwarded to the relevant units for comment.
A majority of the complaints concerned pre-trial investigations, with other subjects including monitoring and emergency response operations, coercive measures, the licence administration and the behaviour of a police of cer. In complaints concerning pre-trial investigations, the complainants were mainly dissatis ed with the duration of the pre-trial investigation, that the pre-trial investigation had not been started, or that it had been concluded without referring the case to the prosecutor for consideration of charges.
In 2016, a total of 13 claims for damages (15 in 2015) were presented to the National Police Board, in addition to which the Board was a witness or defendant in 13 trials concerning damages (14 in 2015). The National Police Board paid damages and litigation expenses, based either on its own compensation deci- sions or on court decisions, to a total amount of EUR 109,745. (EUR 28,998 in 2015).
The National Police Board's legality control issued a statement to the Parliamentary Om-
budsman on 18 cases (28 in 2015) and to the Chancellor of Justice on 24 cases (28 in 2015). Due to complaints made to the European Court of Human Rights, the National Police Board issued three statements to the Ministry of the Interior (two in 2015). Furthermore, nine other statements concerning legality control were issued to the Ministry of the Interior ( ve in 2015).
The National Police Board carried out log investigations of the police information system in two matters (two in 2015), and initiated other legality control investigations in one matter (three in 2015). In 2016, the National Police Board's legality control referred ve cas- es to the Of ce of the Prosecutor General for an assessment of whether there was reason to suspect that a police of cer has committed a crime ( ve in 2015).
INTERNAL AUDIT VISITED EVERY POLICE UNIT
Internal audit refers to the systematic as- sessment and development of the police administration’s monitoring, management and administrative processes, as well as the suf - ciency and effectiveness of risk management
, the purpose of which is to support the Police and the supreme command in achieving the speci ed goals.
The task of the National Police Board's internal audit is to handle the internal audits of the Board and its subordinate police units, and
to promote the internal monitoring and risk management carried out by the police units themselves. For this purpose, Internal audit offers consultation and training, and carries out inspections and investigations on various Police functions and processes.
During the year, visits were made to all police units, and to two different police stations of each unit. Six different topics were reviewed during the visits, and follow-up inspections for the previous year's visits were carried out. The observations have been processed, and proce- dures have been established for the issued rec- ommendations; internal audit will monitor their realisation as part of the inspection process.