Doug Beattie MC MLA, the Ulster Unionist Justice Spokesperson, has called on the Justice Minster to guarantee that the under staffing of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) will not be used as an excuse for more cuts to the Police Budget.

Doug Beattie MC said:

“The suspension of training at the Police Training College Garnerville has left the PSNI undermanned by approximately 300 officers. Combined with natural wastage and long term sick it means the police have nearly 1,000 officers fewer than what the Chief Constable described as ‘manageable manning figures.’

“The news that training will recommence and the training programme may be reduced from 23 to 22 weeks, is of course welcome and will help refresh the service with new recruits. However, there must be a concerted effort to make up the staffing shortfall created by the suspension of training, and the Justice Minister and Executive must dedicate extra resources to ensure this happens.

“My concern is that the accountants in government may well see the 300 less officers as a budgetary saving measure and construct an argument that says if the PSNI can operate over a protracted period of time with less police officers, they can manage indefinitely. This would lead to a permanent reduction in PSNI staffing.

“I therefore call on the Justice Minister to guarantee that she will not accept any cuts to the PSNI budget due to low staffing levels which have been forced on the service by the suspension of training at Garnerville.

“The Ulster Unionist Party believes that if the PSNI is going to effective in the vast, varied and increasing roles it is being asked to undertake, then it must be staffed correctly.  That staffing should reflect the figure first envisaged by the Patten Report, which set the PSNI staffing figure at 7,600 some 700 more than the present level, before the current crisis.

“If the Executive’s Action Plan for tackling paramilitary activity, organised crime and criminality is to work then there must be an increase in neighbourhood policing and that means more officers on our streets tackling crime at source.”