‘Particularly alarming’ 18 less officers in district after PSNI hit by £80m budget cut

‘Particularly alarming’ 18 less officers in district after PSNI hit by £80m budget cut

22 February 2023

POLICING levels across Newry, Mourne and Down are to be reduced with almost 20 less officers on the ground within weeks.

The news was confirmed at a meeting of the district’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership last week.

Confirmation of the reduction in manpower has concerned a number of local politicians with one describing the cut in numbers as “unjustifiable”.

It has been revealed that none of the 18 officers who are to leave the force will be made redundant, with the reduced manpower achieved as a result of what is being described as natural wastage. 

It’s understood that a number of the 18 officers who will formally leave the organisation are currently absent from work.

However, once the posts have been vacated, the officers will not be replaced, with concern that a reduction in officers could impact on neighbourhood policing in particular.

News of the reduction comes after PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne told the Policing Board that there would be 309 fewer officers province-wide by the end of the current financial year in March. 

In addition, as many as 115 civilian staff are to leave the organisation, with Mr Byrne explaining the cuts in officer numbers would leave the service with 6,699 full-time officers — 800 fewer than the number agreed to by the political parties in the New Decade New Approach deal.

DUP Slieve Croob councillor Alan Lewis — the chair of the district’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership — said communities 

in Northern Ireland faced a new era of less visible and less responsive policing.

“This is unjustifiable,” he declared. “Confirmation that the PSNI is facing £80m of cuts to its immediate budget is worrying, with the figures stand in stark contrast to the promises made by New Decade New Approach which committed to 7,500 police officers. 

“Northern Ireland now has the lowest number of officers since the formation of the PSNI, despite crime rising and becoming more complex. This should be of concern to all of us and one cannot help but conclude that this will embolden those engaged in criminality and lead to slower investigations.”

Cllr Lewis the PSNI has warned for some time of the “seismic pressures” facing its finances as a result of years of underinvestment, but he said those warnings have been largely ignored by the Department of Justice and the Northern Ireland Office.

“The reality is that communities in Northern Ireland face a new era of less visible and less responsive policing and that is unjustifiable,” he continued.

“In Newry, Mourne and Down, there will be 18 fewer officers and I am advised that there will be no redundancies, with the reductions managed through natural wastage. However, in real terms, this is still 18 positions which aren’t being refilled and 18 fewer officers on the streets and within our communities.”

Cllr Lewis said neighbourhood policing teams will have to be restructured, a move he described as “particularly alarming” given that visible and accessible policing has been the bedrock of building community confidence and strengthening relations across the district.

He continued: “I am a strong advocate of the neighbourhood model and am deeply concerned that it could potentially be adversely impacted by these disastrous cuts. 

“There needs to be a realisation that it is impossible to simply turn the tap on and off when it comes to officer numbers. For every year of cuts, it will take another two or three to re-grow numbers and this situation cannot be allowed to continue. 

“Policing has taken more than its fair share of budget cuts in recent times and the DUP will be pressing the Secretary of State to right this wrong. He must now act decisively and come forward with the resources required to protect service integrity within the PSNI and ensure the organisation is well-placed to tackle crime and keep all our people safe.’’

Cllr Lewis said the PSNI faced an “unprecedented” operating shortfall of £226m over the next three years which will result in a net loss of over 300 officers in this financial year alone and that on average, 36 officers leave the PSNI every month. 

He said in the absence a resumption of recruitment the number of officers will continue to fall over the next few years.

“This has deep ramifications for operational policing, including having fewer officers to patrol our neighbourhoods, fewer detectives to investigate serious crime and the potential loss of access to some police stations with others being sold off completely,” he continued.

Cllr Lewis is asking residents to a look at the Local Policing Plan consultation document on the PSNI website which allows them to indicate where they feel priority should be given, with the results broken down and analysed within each policing district. 

The document can be viewed at https://psni.prioritysimulator.com.