John McNeillJohn McNeill has extensive experience of criminal justice, governance, accountability, complaints handling and human rights. He was a Probation Officer, and a senior official in the Northern Ireland Prison Service; a Governor in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS); Chief Executive of SACRO; and a senior official in SPS Headquarters responsible for regimes and healthcare. Following a period on its Board he developed a Convention compliant approach to managing risk, and helped establish the Risk Management Authority, a body that has influenced practice internationally. Other activities include numerous non-executive positions in national and international non-governmental organisations, improving their governance and performance.Since his ‘retirement’ in July 2005 John has held a range of Ministerial and Parliamentary appointments - the Risk Management Authority for Scotland; the Civil Nuclear Police Authority; the Parole Board for England and Wales; the Probation Board Northern Ireland; and the Ministry of Defence Service Complaints Panel. He was one of the first Human Rights Commissioners appointed by the Scottish Parliament. Following his tenure as Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland he was appointed the first Police Investigations and Review Commissioner in April 2013 with oversight of all policing bodies operating in Scotland.John studied at Queen’s University Belfast, the Open University, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde, and at Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology as a Cropwood Fellow. He holds degrees in Arts, Criminology, Legal Studies and Human Rights. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster; an Honorary Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University; an Honorary Professor at Queen Margaret’s University Edinburgh; and an Associate of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, advising on accountability in policing bodies. John was also an Honorary Professor at the University of Sheffield, a Visiting Professor at the University of Chester, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management.Currently, John reviews complaints delegated by the Defence Council to the Army, Air and Admiralty Boards.