Slow progress in transforming 'grim' PSNI image
PSNI chiefs are making agonisingly slow progress in transforming grim and heavily-fortified stations across Northern Ireland, a watchdog claimed today.
Oversight Commissioner Al Hutchinson, the man scrutinising a huge overhaul of the force, was also alarmed that a plan to recruit more Catholic civilian staff is not working.
He warned of a big drain on crucial expertise if district policing representatives are replaced next year.
Attempts to build strong community links are in danger of stagnating as well.
With full support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland still not achieved, Mr Hutchinson stressed the reforms were at a critical point.
In his 12th report on the pace of change, the former Royal Canadian Mounted Police chief emphasised real and significant progress has been made.
“A remarkable transformation in policing has taken place in a relatively short period since autumn 2001, and most structural, organisational and functional changes are firmly established,” he said.
He was less impressed, however, with the heavy armour that still surrounds many stations, years on from the worst terrorist attacks.
A new estates strategy is expected after Christmas, and Chief Constable Hugh Orde has been attempting to take down the barriers surrounding some buildings.
But Mr Hutchinson insisted more was needed to boost community relations.
“Although the PSNI has made some progress on making police stations more normal and welcoming, this has been slow and seemingly painful.
“The day-to-day reality that people are faced with in terms of their community’s police station is not so different from the past: armoured gates and guard posts, high blast walls, bleak and dingy reception areas.
“If the community is ever to view its police service in a different light, then everything that the PSNI can do to put more police officers on the streets, and make its buildings as normal and inviting as possible, can only accelerate the shift in its relationship with the community.”
One of the big success stories has been the introduction of policing partnerships across the 26 district councils.
But if independent members are replaced after local elections in 2005, “hard-won expertise” would be lost, Mr Hutchinson cautioned.
Policing in the Community has been an important initiative, yet the commissioner was concerned that it has reached a plateau.
With parts of the public still to back the PSNI, including republicans, he called for a big new push.
“There is a sense that it has lost momentum, and that there is a need to refresh the effort,” he said.
“One clear impediment to progress is the lack of acceptance of and support for the police across Northern Ireland, an issue which a new political agreement may address in part.”
Attempts to bring in more Catholic officers have been replicated among civilian staff. But the commissioner insisted: “They are not working as intended, and likely cannot work in the longer term.
“Our last statistics indicate that the percentage of Catholics among civilian staff had risen from only 12.3% in 1999 to 14.4% in 2004.”
Any delays in recruiting qualified civilians is also hindering efforts to get more police on patrol.
“This simply means that there are fewer police officers on the street today than there might have been,” according to Mr Hutchinson.
In a response to the criticisms, Assistant Chief Constable Roy Toner said the service was committed to its civilianisation policy.
“Given the fact that there is no voluntary severance scheme for civilian staff, as there is for police officers, it will obviously take longer for the composition of civilian staff to change,” he added.
Under the plans to cut the size of the force, more than half of the 1,487 full-time reservists are to go, a decision that provoked concerns in the report about leaving an “experience gap”.
Dismay that a register of notifiable memberships is yet to be finalised has eased since the 90-page document was compiled.
The plans would mean officers disclosing affiliations with the Masons, Orange Order, other loyalist marching organisations or the Catholic Ancient Order of Hibernians and Knights of St Columbanus.
Even though nearly 6,000 serving men and women completed registration forms under the original scheme, Mr Orde was forced to halt his plans last month following a legal challenge by the Masonic Order and two officers.
Mr Hutchinson had labelled this a failure after five years, but he has been placated by a new order drawn up at the start of this month as the registration process was re-started.
