Unrest leaves PSNI unable to perform 'day-to-day' policing

Following on from the Acting Chief Constable's candid assessment of policing difficulties at a meeting with the Policing Board yesterday, manpower levels within the PSNI have been brought into focus.

In his address to the Board's Corporate Policy Committee, Colin Cramphorn said that intensive street violence – particularly in north and east Belfast – had drained "operational capabilities" to such an extent that the officers were only able to attend emergency calls of late, leaving "little to deliver ordinary day-to-day policing".

Mr Cramphorn revealed that 731 officers had been injured in the 12 months up to July 31, and as many as 10% of the PSNI's compliment are currently absent from duty. With many experienced officers leaving the service, the total number of regular officers as of July this year stood at 6,859 – some 1,600 short of the recommended level. That figure, taken in conjunction with sickness levels, had led to many calls for the retention of the full-time police reserve which had been tabled for cuts under the Patten Report.

Mr Cramphorn said the issue of the future of the full-time reserve was a matter for the Secretary of State and the Chief Constable. But he backed Sir Ronnie Flanagan's statement on March 31 - before he left his post as Chief Constable - saying that the reserve must remain in place.

In the interim, Ulster Unionist Policing Board member Fred Cobain called for the short-term measure of recalling the 60 officers currently seconded to the UN operations in Kosovo. He then demanded a definitive statement on the future of the full-time police reserve.

"There must be an end to the ongoing argument over the full-time reserve. We have to have a concrete statement which gives the reserve the assurances that it is being kept as long as the security situation lends itself to that need," he said.

After yesterday's meeting, the Policing Board expressed "serious concern" about the issues raised by the Acting Chief Constable and pledged to do everything within their power to tackle the issue.

Speaking after the meeting, Chairman of the Policing Board, Professor Desmond Rea, said: “For some time we have been extremely disturbed about the drain public order policing has had on police resources and the resulting impact to the health and welfare of officers on the ground.

“However, whilst the concerns raised today are connected to this overall issue, they are largely the product of factors outside the control of the police and indeed the Board."

Statistics held by the PSNI reveal that in 2001, 876 officers were reported as injured as a result of the security situation – the highest of any year since the start of the troubles. In the same period 302 people were injured as a result of paramilitary-style beatings and shootings.

(GB)