Action needed to avert full-blown PSNI crisis following recruitment freeze says Police Federation

Chair of the Police Federation, Liam Kelly, said things are getting worse by the month: “The pressures officers are enduring right now are intolerable and expecting them to do more with less is a recipe for service-wide breakdown in the work we do on behalf of our communities.

“This is a problem that must be fixed before there’s further slippage. Budgets have got to be sorted out as a matter of urgency. Delaying taking the steps to fix what’s broken or threatened isn’t an option.

“Our politicians owe it to the people who vote for them, and who rely on the services officers provide, to sort out this situation if we’re to avert a full-blown crisis.”

PSNI Chief Operating Officer, Pamela McCreedy, said the organisation had recruited more than the 85 students officers anticipated for the year, but said due to “sustained budgetary pressures” no further appointments would be made in 2022/23.

She said: “Regrettably, we anticipate that our budgetary position will have an impact on our service delivery to the communities we serve. We continue to assess how best to maximise our resources against operational risks and priorities.”

A Department of Justice spokesperson said: “The recruitment of police officers is ultimately an operational matter for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. The Minister is committed to respecting his operational independence and the role of the Policing Board.”

UUP’s Mike Nesbitt called on Justice Minister Naomi Long to intervene.

He said: “It is simply not good enough for the Justice Minister to call it an operational matter and seek to pass the buck. This is about service delivery, affecting the entire community and the ability of the police to do their job, and it needs to be resolved as a matter of urgency because it is the public who will suffer if it is not. The Minister needs to make the case to increase the police budget and she needs to make it now.”

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said: “This news is alarming but not unexpected.

“The pressures currently engulfing the PSNI’s budget are sadly a symptom of a decade-long underinvestment in policing. They are a symptom of the running failure by successive Justice Ministers to prioritise effective police numbers in line with independent recommendations and the NDNA commitment.

He said: “A key element of the projected shortfall in PSNI funding relates to officer pay awards. The DUP will continue to make the case at Westminster for the Treasury to make available additional funding to ensure the implementation of these, and other, public sector pay settlements.”