Service levels to slip as 30 Officers leave Policing evert month

Thirty Police Officers are leaving the PSNI every month, according to the Police Federation for Northern Ireland.

Thirty Police Officers are leaving the PSNI every month, according to the Police Federation for Northern Ireland.

Up to 200 will retire or leave by the end of June, during which time there will be no replacements graduating from the Police College. Fifty-two student Officers graduated on Friday in the last ceremony of its kind for six months.

The ‘freeze’ on recruitment took no account of natural wastage or Officers leaving for less pressurised jobs.

The Chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Mark Lindsay, said the fact that there will be 250 fewer Officers on the books by June raises issues of service resilience and delivery.

Mr Lindsay said: “There are inherent risks here. Fewer Officers will mean increased pressures on colleagues. More and more will be expected of them with knock-on consequences on their physical and mental wellbeing, and intolerable pressures on their families.

“In addition, we have seen the pressures manifest themselves in terms of service delivery.

Neighbourhood policing has virtually disappeared from all but a few areas, with the result that officers are less visible to communities.

Incidents of crime have increased by 5.7% since 2013 and this trend is set to continue if policing is not adequately resourced. Worryingly, there is an under reporting rate of 53% of comparable crime, which emphasises the pressures policing is already under.

“This situation needs to be addressed, and addressed with some urgency. I know politicians are distracted at present, but they must take action to stop the erosion and undermining of the PSNI.

“The public has a right to expect a professional, responsive service but this depletion, if allowed to go unchecked, will lead to an inevitable further deterioration in service.

“If you have fewer Officers, then there will be poorer response times and fewer interventions. The men and women I represent are committed and professional people who want to see steps taken to avert a crisis but there is a limit to what can be achieved with inadequate resourcing.”