What happened when PoliceServiceNI put its own officers under secret surveillance? BBCSpotlightNI has examined failings around a bribery investigation into multi-million pound police vehicle contracts
By Chris ThorntonShortcomings in secret surveillance of the PSNI's own officers were "a recipe for disaster", former Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde has said.
Spotlight has examined failings around the high-profile bribery investigation into multi-million pound police vehicle contracts. There are strict rules regulating the use of intelligence sources that require police to review members of the public who provide them with information more than three times.Tim Hanley described the use of secret surveillance as "a juggernaut"
The most senior detective in Northern Ireland at the time of the bribery investigation told Spotlight he had concerns about the way the case had been conducted."I would describe it as like a juggernaut, and nobody wanted to put their foot on the brake."The report extract does not refer directly to the bribery investigation but said some spying on police officers had "no external oversight".
The Northern Ireland Policing Board, which oversees the PSNI, told Spotlight it was not "made aware of or briefed on" the commissioners' report. The BBC investigation has unearthed an evidence trail that suggests the bribery investigation was not the only case where intelligence sources were operating with questionable authority.
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