Doug Beattie MC MLA, the Ulster Unionist Party’s Westminster candidate for Upper Bann, has supported the Police Federation Chairman in his assessment that further cuts to policing numbers are a ‘frightening prospect.’  

Doug Beattie MC said:

“For months now I have been highlighting the problems caused by manning levels in the PSNI and the impact that repeated budget cuts are having on the ability of the Police to protect and serve the community. 

“Today we learn that numbers are to be cut by a further 238 over the next two years and I fully agree with Mark Lindsay of the Police Federation that this is indeed ‘a frightening prospect.’

“All politicians must now sit up and listen. A crisis has been allowed to develop in police funding and for the sake of everyone in Northern Ireland, it must be resolved.

“The Ulster Unionist Party believes that if the PSNI is going to be able to undertake the roles which society wants it to, then it must be properly resourced. Given that we as a society are still plagued with a serious terrorist threat in addition to ‘ordinary’ crime, it is quite frankly little short of madness to reduce numbers and cut budgets.    

“That this is happening at a time when the Army has been brought onto the streets of London to assist the Metropolitan Police is a supreme irony. Let me be quite clear. I do not want to see the Army routinely back on the streets of Northern Ireland, but I do want to see the PSNI provided with the manpower and financial resources needed to combat crime and protect the people of Northern Ireland. 

“Within two years, numbers will fall to 6,600, significantly below the 7,000 figure which a 2014 review recommended, and an incredible 1,000 below the figure recommended by Patten.  

“Furthermore, there is to be a £20m cut to the Police budget. The Chief Constable has said that since he took the job he has had to make cuts of £108m to his budget. This is little short of madness.”