Ms Nuala O'Loan:

On the question of investigators who are employed by GSOC, I draw the committee's attention to the growing body of independent investigators who have never been police officers. In my former office, which is now 14 years old, we recruited a number of bright young graduates and sent them on university-based investigative training courses. They received all of the training that normal detectives would get in forensics and crime scene analysis. GSOC adapted our training programmes to some degree, as did the Independent Police Commission in London. There is a body of independent people who can be recruited and, indeed, GSOC has already recruited staff from the Police Ombudsman, which has also recruited back staff who worked for it before subsequently working for GSOC. I suggest that is a very healthy interchange.