Responding to the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland report, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: “The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to working together with our Criminal Justice Partners to improve performance.  We recognise, with victims and witnesses, the frustrations they have with the overall performance of the criminal justice system.  Our results from HMICFRS Inspections show we have made significant improvements in the standard of our investigations and are working hard to enhance public confidence in the system.

“We welcome the Inspection Report and we will now work through the finer detail with our partners and discuss the content and the recommendations with the Inspectors.  We have had initial meetings with the Inspectors and look forward to having more conversations with them.

“Crime levels are increasing, more importantly the complexity of those crimes and therefore the complexity of investigations are increasing at a time the Police Service is under significant financial pressure but we are committed to working collaboratively to overcome challenges that contribute to delays in getting cases to court.”