Stormont ignoring police 'crisis', ex-ACC says

Alan McQuillan was a senior office in the PSNI

Stormont is ignoring a developing police funding “crisis”, a retired assistant chief constable has claimed.

Alan McQuillan accused politicians of having “blinkers on”, as 120 reinforcements began arriving in Northern Ireland from Police Scotland.

The support was requested last week amid outbreaks of disorder linked to anti-immigration protests.

The officers are likely to be on duty for around a week.

Alan McQuillan has accused politicians of having “blinkers on”

'Politicians have failed policing'

Officer numbers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have been at record lows for more than a year.

It currently has around 6,300 officers.

Earlier this month, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told the Northern Ireland Policing Board the force feels abandoned.

Mr McQuillan, who left the PSNI in 2003, told BBC News NI: “Stormont has got the blinkers on.

“Northern Ireland politicians have failed policing.

“I think we are at the point of crisis now. There is no capacity to recruit and train people.”

Chief constable Jon Boutcher previously said the police force feels abandoned

On average, around 300 officers leave the PSNI each year.

A recruitment freeze, due to budget pressures, was in place for a number of years, meaning officer headcount fell quickly and dramatically.

An internal PSNI report stated had policing spend in Northern Ireland matched the rest of the UK, it would have in excess of 8,000 officers.

It suggested a force of between 6,900 and 7,200 is required.

The PSNI’s staffing problems are not helped by long-standing challenges around officer sickness and restricted duties.

The PSNI receives the vast majority of its budget from the Department of Justice (DoJ).