The PSNI is “going to shrink over the next three years” with its ability to tackle crime “reduced”, the Chief Constable has warned today.
Simon Byrne was outlining the force’s “stark budgetary situation” on Thursday as he said “crime is rising” but there will be fewer officers on Northern Ireland’s streets.
As numbers of officers fall, the police boss warned that the “capacity to investigate crime may be reduced and slowed” and that there will be a “reduced proactive presence on our roads despite rising road deaths”.
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He also said that the PSNI’s “ability to respond to sustained protest and public disorder may be reduced”.
He added: “Today, Thursday 26th January, Chief Operating Officer Pamela McCreedy and Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton updated the Policing Board on our response to the profoundly challenging budgetary situation facing the Police Service. At the same time I briefed officers and staff.
“We have previously made clear that we will have a funding shortfall of around £80 million by March this year and envisage bigger shortfalls in the years to come. As a result, the Police Service is going to shrink over the next three years. By March there will be 309 fewer Police Officers and 115 fewer staff, a reduction of nearly 6%.
“We will then have 6,699 full time officers. This is 800 officers fewer that the commitment made in the New Decade New Approach Agreement and the lowest officer numbers since the Police Service of Northern Ireland was formed.
“This reduction comes at a time when our population is growing, when workloads are increasing, becoming more complex and crime is rising. Police are already making difficult choices every day to minimise the risk to the public and to reduce the harm these reductions pose.”
The police chief stated that the PSNI has ‘sought to’:
*Protect our core emergency incident response and statutory functions;
*Continue Neighbourhood Policing
*Protect areas of significant risk such as Public Protection which incorporates domestic abuse, sexual crime and child abuse;
*Understand the impact upon the welfare and wellbeing of our officers and staff.
He added: “The message we delivered today is a bleak one. Inevitably with less police there will be less policing. In spite of this, as a Police Service, our core work will not change. The public can continue to have confidence that we will still answer 999 calls quickly, we will continue to patrol our neighbourhoods, we will continue investigate high harm crime and bring offenders to justice.
“The Police Service is a ‘can do’, practical organisation. I want to acknowledge and thank our people for their resilience, flexibility and commitment. They are used to solving difficult problems and meeting challenges head on. We will innovate and work in smarter ways to ensure that our resources are put to the most effective use for the community we serve. We will continue to invest in technology and be ruthless in cutting out bureaucracy.
“As far as possible we have minimised the impact on service delivery in 2022, but through 2023 these reductions will have real and noticeable impacts. These will be felt in communities across Northern Ireland.”
However, Simon Byrne issued stark warning, saying the police ‘assessment’ is:
*Non-emergency calls to the Police Service may take longer to answer and at times the public may have to wait longer for officers to attend non-emergency incidents;
*Our capacity to investigate crime may be reduced and slowed. Fewer officers investigating a rising number of crimes may mean slower investigations and in some cases a less satisfactory service to victims;
*We will have to prioritise investigations. There will be knock on delays for the criminal justice system;
*Our Neighbourhood Policing function is shrinking;
*There will be a reduced proactive presence on our roads despite rising road deaths;
*We will actively review access to, and closure of, police stations across Northern Ireland;
*Our ability to respond to sustained protest and public disorder may be reduced;
*The public sector in Northern Ireland is under huge pressure and in order to protect our core functions our ability to support other public sector colleagues may also reduce.
The Chief Constable added: “While there will be no redundancies, all parts of the Police Service are going to see significant change in the coming months as we restructure to minimise the risk to service delivery in priority areas. Working alongside our Staff Associations and Trade Unions the Service Executive Team will do all we can to support officers and staff in the coming months. Officer and staff welfare and wellbeing will remain a priority.
“It is not our intention to cause alarm. However, we want to be clear with the public and our staff about the type of Service they can expect to see in the coming years.
“We will continue to serve the people of Northern Ireland with professionalism and remain committed to delivering a visible and impartial human rights based policing service. We will continue to protect the public in Northern Ireland to the very best of our ability.”
The PSNI says that as a result of the first round of budgetary cuts, by March 2023 reductions will include:
*75 fewer neighbourhood police officers;
*96 fewer detectives investigating murder, terrorism, drugs and organised crime;
*97 fewer officers in our Operational Support Department. This includes Roads Policing and specialist search / public order teams of the Tactical Support Groups (TSGs).
*115 fewer police staff across a range of roles.
Reduction of police station opening hours or closure will be “subject to public consultation”, the PSNI added.
A spokeman added: “Over £30 million of non-pay reductions this year will have significant impact, including: A reduced vehicle fleet. Damaged or broken police vehicles will wait longer for service or repair. Deferred building and maintenance work on a crumbling estate. Other modernisation plans – digital and estate - will be deferred.”
The Chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Liam Kelly, described the cuts as “draconian”, adding that “we will see fewer officers and a marked deterioration in services to the general public”.
He added: “This is shocking news and it will have a devastating effect on each and every police officer in Northern Ireland. Our colleagues do their best for our communities and this is the thanks they get. The Government must be made aware of the depth of feeling that there is, not only from within police ranks but throughout this wider community.
“There has to be an outcry with all organisations and political parties singing from the same sheet. This is intolerable, potentially harmful and will impact badly on resilience and the ability to fight crime and counter the actions of terrorists.
“I am appealing to the political parties to organise a crisis summit and to come up with a single and strong message for the Government. I am also asking all other groups to engage in an intensive lobbying of Ministers involving writing letters of protest alongside a demand to halt the cuts.
“This is now a perfect storm with a cost-of-living crisis that’s the worst in living memory, no pay or incremental awards, a ban on recruitment and hundreds of officers preparing to leave the Service by the end of the financial year in March.”
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