Road deaths: Safety fears after road policing officer numbers cut

The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that 21 roles were cut in the Roads Policing Unit in the last financial year.

A cut in the number of road policing officers could mean drivers breaking the rules "get away with it", a road safety charity has warned.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed 21 roles were cut from the roads policing unit in the last financial year.

It said there were "no current plans" to increase officer numbers.

It comes as the number of road deaths in Northern Ireland hit their highest level in eight years.

Seventy-one people lost their lives in 2023 - the first time the annual death toll rose above 70 since 2015.

PSNI figures also showed 679 people were seriously injured on roads between 1 January and 31 October 2023. Injury figures for the final two months of the year have not yet been published.

Christopher Sherrard, who is the chairperson and founding member of the road safety charity Life After, said he was worried about education and deterrance.

His father Wilson Sherrard, was 60 when he died after the car he was a passenger in was involved in a collision with a van near Claudy in August 2016.

"My concern as a road safety campaigner is education packages just aren't there," Mr Sherrard told BBC Radio Foyle's The North West Today.

"The funding is not there for the promotion of road safety and the police are vital in helping do that," he said.

"We work really hard to promote road safety in schools and community groups with a number of partners, but the fewer numbers of police will undoubtedly impact that."

Wilson Sherrard died after the car he was a passenger in crashed near Claudy in August 2016.

Mr Sherrard said road policing officers were "a deterrent for drivers who think it is ok to break the rules on our roads".

"The fewer number of officers patrolling those roads could mean a greater chance of people breaking those rules getting away with things," he said.

Mr Sherrard said he accepted the PSNI was facing extreme budget pressures, but said the move would also give the remaining officers more work.

"They do so many different roles in the Road Policing Unit, from investigating outcomes of fatal and serious crashes, as well as family liaison teams who deliver support to families recently bereaved," he said.

"You also have the officers out on the roads with speed cameras and also those conducting drink-driving checks so it impacts all of that."

In a statement, the police said there were no plans to increase numbers in the unit, but said it would be considered when its budget was fully resolved.

It said a number of initiatives were being implementing by the PSNI to address deaths on the roads.