Legacy framework must include more funding for police – Boutcher

There must be more funding for policing in order for a new Legacy Commission to work, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has said.

Mr Boutcher said the force is currently spending £24 million a year on legacy investigations, money he said “which should be spent on policing Northern Ireland today”.

The UK and Irish Governments have published a new framework on how to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The plan will see the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) reformed to become a Legacy Commission, which will investigate Troubles deaths.

Mr Boutcher said he welcomed any progress on legacy, stating that victims and families “have been waiting far too long for the authorities to get this right”.

The Chief Constable said that plans must include funding for getting information quickly from those bodies that hold it.

He said: “Currently, legacy investigations cost our organisation £24 million a year.

“This cost has included the additional demand of servicing requests from the ICRIR for which we receive no additional funding despite highlighting this additional pressure on frequent occasions.

“We are not funded for all aspects of legacy costs and each day the PSNI buckles a little more as we desperately try to manage the unique challenges of policing a post-conflict society with wholly inadequate funding.

“The supply of information to a reformed Legacy Commission will require resources in the PSNI and our funding is critical for the success of any new commission.”

Mr Boutcher added: “The cost of dealing with legacy comes out of our core budget which should be spent on policing Northern Ireland today.

“It is not right that we have to use that budget for legacy.

“That money should be providing police officers in our neighbourhood and response teams, it should be paying for detectives to investigate and solve crimes.

“Therefore for this revised commission to work, the planning must include additional funding for policing.

“The PSNI not being funded for legacy has had a direct and detrimental impact on the trust and confidence of communities in policing.”

Meanwhile, the Office of the Police Ombudsman said it anticipated the restoration of inquests and the establishment of new legacy bodies would bring additional disclosure demands.

A statement said: “We do welcome the proposal that ‘the power to refer cases to the Legacy Commission will be expanded to include other entities in specific circumstances, including…the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland’ which we sought previously, and that there will be ‘continued oversight by the various UK police conduct bodies through agreements provided for in statute’.”