Federation links rise in PSNI resignations to handling of Ormeau Road incident

PFNI chairman Liam Kelly said he was in no doubt that junior officers have been adversely affected by a perceived lack of support in the face of a political outcry.

One probationer constable was suspended and another ‘repositioned’ after they intervened to establish why a number of people had gathered on the Ormeau Road in February 2021 – apparently in contravention of the Covid regulations in force at that time.

The event had been organised to mark the anniversary of a UDA gun attack that claimed the lives of five Catholics.

A man who had been wounded in the 1992 atrocity was arrested at the scene, with the police actions captured on video and widely circulated on social media.

The video sparked severe criticism of the PSNI from nationalist politicians and chief constable Simon Byrne announced the following day that he had removed the two officers from front line duties.

Sinn Fein vice-president and then deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill said there was “unprecedented anger” over the arrest.

The PFNI chairman’s concerns came to light during media scrutiny of the reasons behind a sharp rise in the number of probationer constables who resigned within two years of starting their service.

Newly released data shows that 49 probationary constables, starting on a basic salary of £21,000, quit in the past financial year – up from 25 during the previous 12 months.

The cost of training those officers would have been in excess of £1m.

Data obtained by the BBC shows that the latest figures contrast sharply with the situation ten years ago when only eight probationer constables quit the force during that 12-month period.

On the Nolan radio show on Wednesday morning, Mr Kelly was asked if the PSNI's response to the Ormeau Road arrest played any part in new recruits walking away.

He said: “Absolutely, we came out very strongly at the time… the interpretation and the perception from our junior officers was that the organisation was basically throwing them under the bus”.

The police federation is currently backing an application for a judicial review of the chief constable’s actions – lodged by the two officers who faced disciplinary action.

Providing an update on the disciplinary proceedings, the federation chairman said: “The outcome so far is that the officer who was suspended has been recommended to go forward for misconduct matters. The other officer who was repositioned, there has no finding of any misconduct against them.”

Also speaking to the Nolan show, a caller who said he was the husband of a police constable said a feeling that junior officers were not being adequately supported by their superiors was having an impact.

One of the officers who spoke to the BBC about salary concerns said he was earning £11.91 an hour and had to take a second job to supplement his income.

"I'm about to work my 16th day in a row between the two jobs," he said.

"If I had a mortgage to pay I would be finished."