Opinion

Tom Kelly: PSNI demoralised, overwhelmed and under-resourced

Tom Kelly

Tom Kelly

Tom Kelly is an Irish News columnist with a background in politics and public relations. He is also a former member of the Policing Board.

Simon Byrne, Chief Constable of the PSNI
Simon Byrne, Chief Constable of the PSNI Simon Byrne, Chief Constable of the PSNI

THE late Seamus Mallon once said: “Solve policing in Northern Ireland and the politics will fall into place.” He was right back then. Less so now.

Policing in Northern Ireland was once wholly corrupted by political interference from the then unionist hegemony in situ at Stormont.

Despite many committed officers, the RUC as an institution became an enforcer of unjust and partisan directives. Over the years they became indistinguishable from the political hierarchy they served.

The RUC was a force like no other but not necessarily in a good way.

Unsurprisingly, it was shunned by the majority of the Catholic and nationalist community. No political settlement could ever be achieved without addressing policing reform.

The so-called Troubles exacerbated the tensions between the RUC and the nationalist community.

None of this takes away from the courage and valour of those individual police officers who withstood the relentless, needless and unwarranted campaigns of terror waged by the IRA, UDA, INLA and UVF. The 319 officers who died should not be forgotten. Nor should the nearly 9,000 who were injured.

The Patten reforms were essential to any new start. The smooth transitioning of the RUC into the PSNI was a remarkable achievement.

Today, the PSNI is unrecognisable from its forbearer. By and large, there is widespread acceptance of it as a policing service for the entire community.

Some issues remain.

50:50 recruitment was ended prematurely. The PSNI remains an embryonic organisation and still requires structural support to maintain equilibrium within the service, so it’s reflective of the society it serves.

The Historical Inquires Team should have been retained. No-one has come up with a better suggestion since its abolition and the current legacy bill is an appalling failure of all victims.

Many police services have cold case teams, some of which have considerable success.

Whitewashing the past doesn’t blunt the search for truth and justice, however long it takes.

The Policing Board too is in need of reform. The political membership is way too strong, leaving the police open to charges of political bias towards one community or the other.

The board membership should be mainly comprised of independent members rather than politicians. Political parties should nominate one party member each. Independent members should be drawn from and reflective of the sectors the police serve.

There is less need for an overtly political Policing Board when there is additional political accountability and scrutiny of policing through the justice minister and the assembly justice committee.

The closure of police stations didn’t bring policing closer to communities, particularly in rural areas.

The PSNI now faces a budget shortfall of nearly £100m. This will mean real time cuts in the actual service.

The current stasis within NI policing could be summed up as demoralised, overwhelmed and under-resourced.

In fairness, the trajectory of this state of affairs existed under devolved ministers. Now out of office, they blame the Executive Office.

Obviously the continued existence of dissident and loyalist paramilitaries puts extra strains on the PSNI in terms of physical and financial resources as well as impacting on recruitment. The concept of weaning paramilitaries off their nefarious illegal activities with public funds, whilst simultaneously starving the police of the budgetary resources to take on these parasites, is as offensive as it is shortsighted.

Against the current level of paramilitary threat, it’s stupid, if not shameful, to believe the PSNI has reached a point where disarming police officers should even be under consideration.

The painful reality within policing appears to come down to a perceived lack of leadership and confidence. The current Chief Constable never seemed to win over hearts and minds within the PSNI or the wider public. A host of senior officers have haemorrhaged out to roles elsewhere.

This is now a watershed moment for the PSNI and the way forward may require a change at the top.