Shortage of cash has the PSNI in crisis
Compensation payments for civil actions against the Police Service of Northern Ireland reached a staggering £12million last year, with litigation costing the service £34.5million in the past four years.
Worryingly, this money is deducted from the PSNI's stipulated budget and that diverts money for frontline policing and other functions required to uphold law and order in this Province.
Compensation culture has been a feature of life in Northern Ireland since the start of the Troubles and, while there are claims legitimately lodged and settled, some method must be found to reduce the deficit that is swallowing up so much of PSNI resources.
Indeed, it is of real concern that when compared with the PSNI figure, the London Metropolitan Police paid out only 916,675 in civil damages last year.
At the weekend, the Chairman of the Policing Board Barry Gilligan gave an ominous warning that the size of the PSNI is no longer sustainable and he talked of further cut-backs leading to closure of more stations.
Mr Gilligan's stark comments come against the backdrop of perceived public opinion that the PSNI has neither the resources nor the number of officers to properly police this Province.
The proposed phasing out of the full-time police reserve by March 2011 will, if implemented, seriously hinder the PSNI's ability to do its job, both in tackling crime and also in confronting the continuing terrorist threat posed by dissident republican groups.
The PSNI budget must be reassessed with a priority given to fireproof the finance required to adequately sustain law-enforcement on all fronts.
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Tuesday 14 February 2012
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