12.The general functions of the Board are to maintain the police and to ensure the police, police support staff and traffic wardens are efficient and effective.  In particular, the Board must in discharging those functions hold the Chief Constable to account for the exercise of his functions (subsection (3)) and have regard to the principle of impartiality (subsection (4)).
13.The Board is required to monitor or assess the performance of the police, including in carrying out their general duty under the Act and in complying with the Human Rights Act.  It is also required to assess the effectiveness of district policing partnerships and community consultation arrangements and the effectiveness of the code of ethics.  It must also keep itself informed as to complaints against the police, crime trends, recruitment to, and the representativeness of, the police.  Subsection (3) also requires the Board to make arrangements for obtaining public co-operation with the police in preventing crime.
14.The Board is required to co-ordinate its activities with, and co-operate with, other statutory bodies in carrying out its functions (subsection (4)).  It is also obliged to have regard to the policing plan and any codes of practice issued on the exercise of its functions.
Commentary Part Ii: the Northern Ireland Policing Board Section 3: General Functions of the Board