Despite facing financial problems, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Jon Boutcher, has promised that a pay rise of 7% for police officers will be implemented. The increase, which has already been applied by forces in England and Wales following a recommendation by the independent pay review body, would cost the PSNI approximately £20m. Boutcher informed the Policing Board that the issue was not whether the rise would be paid, but how it would be funded. “If I have to step into a position where I am breaching my accounting officer responsibilities and the board and the Department of Justice decide they will have to sanction me, then we will get into that territory if we need to” he said.
The PSNI, which currently has 6,523 officers, is facing a financial year-end deficit of £52m. It is believed that this projection includes money to fund the pay award. Boutcher is lobbying widely for additional funding. He informed the board that as a result of pay issues more police officers are leaving the organisation than would ordinarily be expected. Unless there are changes to funding arrangements, the PSNI could see its numbers reduce from their current level to 5,954 officers by March 2025.
Assembly member Trevor Clarke branded the government’s budget “callous, irresponsible and the catalyst for many of the pressures now facing operational policing”. Clarke, who sits on the board, described police officers as “putting themselves in harm’s way every day to serve our communities and keep people safe” and stated that “the very least they deserve is a fair pay award”. Last year, PSNI officers voted to support industrial action over pay and conditions.
Annual funding of around £800m for the PSNI is supplied via the Northern Ireland block grant from the Department of Justice
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