Enquiry Office closures result of budget pressures

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) says the planned closure of eleven PSNI Station Enquiry Offices is the inevitable consequence of budget pressures.

PFNI Chair, Liam Kelly, said: “I understand that communities that are affected will view this decision with dismay and disappointment.

“That said, severe cuts in service levels are the outworking for an organisation that faces a deficit of £130 million.

“Something has to give if core policing services are to be maintained with the diminishing resources that are available. This is the inevitable consequence of budget pressures, but it will fall far short of what’s required if the Service is to attempt to balance the books.

“It is a total disgrace that insufficient priority is devoted to policing in Northern Ireland. Our Northern Ireland Executive must realise that reducing overall effectiveness and ability to respond to calls from the public with fewer officers is a backward and potentially dangerous step.

“Only direct intervention by Ministers and the Government to sort out the mess that is the PSNI budget will halt the decline.  

“It’s a relief that there are no station closures involved, but that shouldn’t be taken to mean that all existing stations will remain open as the Service grapples with this full-blown crisis.”