Legacy probes draining PSNI resources, says DUP leader, amid fears over force's capacity to tackle violence against women and girls
The PSNI is struggling to police the present while also tackling legacy issues of the past, Gavin Robinson has said, after the chief constable raised concerns about the force’s capacity to deal with violence against women and girls.
The DUP leader’s comments came as female victims of violence were at the forefront of people’s minds in Northern Ireland. In a little more than a fortnight two women have been murdered in the province, as well as this week seeing the conviction of YouTuber Stephen McCullagh for the horrific slaying of his pregnant partner, Natalie McNally, in 2022.
The violent deaths of 23-year-old Ellie Flanagan in Enniskillen and 28-year-old mother of two Amy Doherty in Londonderry have horrified people across Ulster. They’re two of the 30 women murdered here since 2020; as Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has highlighted, statistically Northern Ireland is the “most dangerous” part of the UK to be a woman.
During an appearance in Westminster yesterday, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said that while violence against women and girls is a priority for him, he has “significant concerns about [the force’s] capacity” to deal with it.
Today Mr Robinson pointed to drains on police finances; although a recovery plan to boost recruitment numbers is on its way, the DUP leader stated, the PSNI’s funding had “flatlined” for around 16 years, while the cost of Troubles legacy investigations is, he maintained, having a definite impact.
“They are trying to police today, whilst also dealing with difficulties from the past,” he told Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show.
“It’s a challenge for the British government; they’re funding to the tune of £250m a legacy body, the ICRIR [Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery], they are putting tens of millions of pounds into two specific inquiries into incidents of the past.
“In all of those circumstances, in the 1,100 cases that are sitting there on civil liability, the PSNI has to respond to those – but they are not funded to respond to issues of the past, issues that arose before the devolution of policing and justice. And that is an impairment on their ability to police today, because they are having to dedicate resources to issues of the past.”
Meanwhile fellow DUP politician, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, said she is horrified by rates of violence against women in Northern Ireland, adding: “It should anger all of us.”
Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster, she said “we should all be” ashamed of the figures, adding: “This is not just an issue for government, it’s an issue for us all.”
Values must be taught “in every home, in every school” to tackle the violence, she said.