Police saving plan turned down

The Policing Board has rejected a cost savings package proposed by the Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde.

The PSNI needs to make savings of £24.5m within the next four months.

On Thursday the board decided to hold off on Sir Hugh's proposals and instead seek funds from the Northern Ireland Office.

SDLP board member Dolores Kelly said board members felt the proposed cuts were going to "impact too severely on frontline policing".

"They were fairly extensive options such as cutting £1.5m from the police training budget, cuts in civilian and police overtime and cutbacks in capital spend," added Mrs Kelly.

Sir Hugh said he understood the Policing Board's concerns but he was legally required to submit a balanced budget.

He said some support jobs would be lost if the money could not be found.

"The costs will be taken out of IT projects, and things like the police estate, transport, repairs - we are determined to leave the frontline service alone, as best we can," he said.

"Our plan at the minute is to take the pressure everywhere but from recruiting."

Hearing

Sir Hugh also gave his reaction to news that claims from officers who say their hearing was damaged during training exercises could amount to £87m.

"Going back to the 1970s, the situation around health and safety was fundamentally different," he said.

"It is absolutely clear that officers undertook training without the protection they get now. That's not a criticism, it's just how the world was."