Northern Ireland

PSNI doesn't know how much it spent in Holylands on St Patrick's Day

A significant policing present in the Holylands area of south Belfast on St Patrick's Day. Picture by Bill Smyth
A significant policing present in the Holylands area of south Belfast on St Patrick's Day. Picture by Bill Smyth A significant policing present in the Holylands area of south Belfast on St Patrick's Day. Picture by Bill Smyth

THE PSNI says it does not know how much it spent on policing in south Belfast's Holylands area on St Patrick's Day.

A significantly larger police presence was deployed last month compared to previous years as drink-fuelled revellers gathered over the holiday period.

Numerous officers patrolled the mainly student area while rows of armoured PSNI vehicles lined the streets.

Fifteen arrests were made in the Holylands and city centre over the holiday for a range of public order offences.

The PSNI is usually able to provide details of its policing bills for a range of events, from boxing matches to the loyalists protests at Twaddell in north Belfast.

However, police have said they cannot provide any cost details for the Holylands on St Patrick's Day this year or in previous years.

In response to a freedom of information request, it said: "The system does not separately identify these events from other events taking place on the same date and therefore we are unable to extract for specific areas in Belfast.

"To provide total costs would require the capture of personal information such as salaries, overtime, administrative support and other associated expenses such as fuel, vehicles, force helicopter, etc.

"Accordingly, I have determined that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does not hold the information specifically as requested."

Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown said police should disclose the costs.

"As an accountable public service, police should be able to provide an assessment of costs, particularly for specific operations of which St Patrick's Day is one," he said.

"Residents will, rightly, want to know what statutory agencies are doing to improve life in the Holylands area and what they're spending."

Last month The Irish News revealed the scale of binge-drinking and anti-social behaviour in the Holylands.

More than 30,000 alcohol units were seized by council officials in three years – the equivalent of around 15,000 cans of beer.

And more than 1,800 complaints of anti-social behaviour were made including drunkenness and verbal abuse.