The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has now submitted its full detailed response to the Stormont Executive’s Draft Programme for Government (PFG).

Speaking about the draft PFG, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told the October Policing Board meeting that he welcomed and strongly supported the inclusion of ‘Ending Violence Against Women and Girls’ and ‘Safer Communities’ as two of the nine immediate priorities for the current mandate. 

He also welcomed the recognition that police officer numbers are at an all-time low, and that this is insufficient to respond to and deal with crime. The commitment to grow police officer numbers to 7,500 in line with the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ is also positive. 

However, the Chief Constable was also clear about his disappointment that the draft PFG does not properly reflect the level of crisis facing the PSNI and that he wants to see the Justice and Policing commitments strengthened and broadened. 

In its formal response the PSNI states that, with declining headcount as well as increasing complexity of demand, the Policing Service is facing a watershed moment and is increasingly unable to keep people safe due to workforce levels being at an all-time low. 6,358 Police Officers and 2,344 Police Staff are well below the levels envisaged in the Patten Review or New Decade New Approach.

This year alone the PSNI has closed eleven Station Enquiry Offices, sought additional Police Officer capacity from Police Scotland in response to serious public disorder, and further reduced the number of Neighbourhood Police Officers which are essential for maintaining effective local relationships and reducing crime.

The PSNI PFG response makes clear that in order to keep people safe, the PSNI requires:

  • Immediate resources to address in year shortfalls and halt the decline in Police Officer and Staff numbers.
  • A sustainable, multi-year funding settlement to allow the Police Service to plan.
  • A properly resourced workforce recovery plan to reverse the decline and build capacity.

The PSNI is also seeking further information and clarification concerning specific proposals in the draft Programme for Government, not least in relation to: the additional investment that has been earmarked for specific Executive priorities, future public sector transformation, as well as the planned legislative programme during the current mandate. The PSNI strongly believes these are critical for enabling not just the delivery of the Programme for Government, but also in terms of improved outcomes for victims of crime, local communities and Northern Ireland as a whole.