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In the latest inspection report of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, HMI Lee Freeman said he was concerned about how the force was keeping people safe, preventing crime and providing victims with an effective service, leading the Deputy Chief Constable to say this must be “a wake up call to properly fund the PSNI.”
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carried out its inspection of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in November last year. It looked at two areas and found that the force was adequate at preventing and deterring crime, antisocial behaviour and vulnerability.
The second area of of its inspection found that PSNI requires improvement for how it manages offenders and suspects. Overall, the report has concerns about how PSNI is funded.
“The continued financial pressures facing the service, if unresolved, are likely to continue to affect the service it provides.”
Responding to the report and the funding concern, Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said that the findings are “undoubtedly disappointing but they are not a surprise.”
“They reflect the warnings that the Chief Constable has been issuing for some time now. Hopefully this report will achieve what thus far our lobbying has failed to do, and will be the wake up call to properly fund the PSNI.”
Concerns about funding for PSNI are not new. In 2023 HMICFRS acknowledged that the force needed to “make some difficult decisions which its leaders were uncomfortable with.” Those decisions included making a £10 million saving by reducing its workforce by 424 police personnel posts from a total headcount of 6,,699 . In November the headcount had fallen to 6,305.
“The Inspectorate findings are sadly evidence of what we have been repeatedly warning for some time – namely that less police inevitably leads to less policing and a greater risk of threat and harm to the public. This under-investment cannot continue.”
The report report says that neighbourhood policing is suffering as a result of budget cuts. particularly when other demands meant that those officers were pulled away and not backfilled. DCC Singleton said that as a result of this, “Our front line neighbourhood and response teams are at significantly reduced strengths meaning “our efforts to prevent crime and protect communities are being frustrated. We should all recognise what those officers remaining in our Neighbourhood Teams do every day to keep people safe.”
Other areas that are deemed requires improvement include how PSNI staff are supported when dealing with child abuse cases. The inspectors said: “Without adequate screening and support, officers carrying out such psychologically demanding roles are likely to find their health and well-being adversely affected. The service needs to provide better support for child abuse investigators, offender managers and their supervisors.”
The combination of the problems identified in this 31 page report form part of a ‘recovery business case’ that the Northern Ireland Justice Minister is currently considering. This case sets out a plan to reverse officer number decline to see them go up to 7,000 in addition to increasing numbers of police staff.
“We are determined to provide the best service possible with the resources we have and crucially we will address the issues highlighted in the report.”
Read the report in full – The Police Force of Northern Ireland: an inspection of police effectiveness and efficiency.
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