Extra £40m for NI police

Chief constable highlighted financial pressures

The Northern Ireland Policing Board has welcomed the allocation of an additional £40m to the police by Security Minister Jane Kennedy.

In a statement, board chairman Professor Desmond Rea said they had asked for the extra money because the violence at interface areas and the loyalist feuding had put more strain on the service.

Mrs Kennedy announced the additional £39.5m in police resources on Tuesday - bringing the total police budget to £654.5m for the financial year 2002/2003

She said: "I recognise the substantial additional financial pressures caused by continuing problems in interface areas, threats from dissident terrorists, loyalist feuding and organised criminality highlighted by the chief constable and the Policing Board.

This is a boost to police finances and meets board concerns about in year funding for the PSNI

Desmond Rea
Policing Board

"In light of these pressures, the secretary of state has made additional resources of £39.5 available to the chief constable.

"Clearly diverting substantial resources of this scale has implications for other key areas of public expenditure in Northern Ireland."

Professor Rea said: "This is a boost to police finances and meets board concerns about funding for the PSNI.

However, Independent Policing Board member, Pauline McCabe said much of the funds had already been spent.

"The sad fact is that it has not been spent on additional policing in the community, on preventing crime, on making the streets safe at night for people to go out," she said.

"It has been spent on dealing with public disorder in interface areas, the threat from dissident terrorists, loyalist feuding and organised criminality."

Acting Deputy Chief Constable Alan McQuillan said: "The exceptional pressures which the PSNI has been facing meant we started the year with a substantial deficit budget.

"Over the course of the year, we have worked very hard, along with the Northern Ireland Office and the Policing Board, to deliver the best service we can to the community with the resources we have.

Jane Kennedy: Announced an additional £39.5m for police resources

"The £39.5m which has been announced today has already been spent. A total of £32.6 million went on police overtime necessitated by the ongoing serious public disorder in interface areas, threats from dissident terrorists, loyalist feuding and organised criminality.

"We also spent £400,000 on additional transport costs arising from the damage caused to our vehicles during incidents of public disorder."

In October last year, Chief Constable Hugh Orde said full-time reservists would remain in place until at least April 2005.

The Patten proposals on the future of policing recommended the reserve should be scrapped when the security situation allowed.

But Mr Orde had pressed the 19-member board to agree to the retention of the reserve for another three years.

After the meeting, the board said the contracts of about 1,200 police reservists would be extended until April 2005.

At that point a severance scheme will be offered and the reserve will be phased out completely by October 2006 unless there is a significant deterioration in the security situation or problems with the 50:50 Catholic recruitment programme.

The review of policing in Northern Ireland by former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten was one of the key elements of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.