PSNI confirms plans to phase out reserves

The organisation representing rank and file police officers in Northern Ireland lashed out today after the new chief constable confirmed plans to phase out the full-time reserve.

The widely-expected move by Matt Baggott means the 440 officers will be gone by March 2011.

The Democratic Unionist Party had pressed for retention of the reservists as part of its price for the devolution of policing and justice powers to Northern Ireland.

Terry Spence, the chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, said: 'I regard this as a disastrous step, one which flies in the face of the present security threat as underlined by this week's report by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC).

'The disbandment of the full-time reserve strips a major asset from the strength of the PSNI at a time when officers are struggling to deliver an adequate policing service to the whole of Northern Ireland and while their lives and those of their extended families are at great risk of attack, as has been witnessed in recent months.'

Sinn Féin supports the abolition of the full-time reserve as part of the new start for policing.

Disbanding the reserve was recommended in the 1999 Patten report on reforming policing.

Earlier this year dissident republicans killed two soldiers and a policeman in separate shootings in Antrim and Craigavon, Co Armagh.

This week the IMC said the strength of the dissident threat had grown.

Mr Spence said: 'I believe that politically the chief constable is between a rock and a hard place, between those irresponsible politicians demanding that the full-time reserve should be disbanded and his duty of care to the officers of the PSNI.

'Nevertheless, his over-riding responsibility is to the members of this police service.

'The plans for civilianisation and getting officers out from behind their desks to make up for the loss of the Full Time Reserve don't address this current emergency or its threat.'

Mr Baggott said the process for phasing out the reserves would continue.

'We are satisfied that the correct response must be to proceed with the phasing out of the full-time reserve and to use our regular officer establishment more effectively, with police officers doing policing jobs,' he said.

'Significant numbers of officers must be released from non-police duties to enhance our frontline visibility, and in particular neighbourhood policing. I will work with my Senior Command Team to drive this forward.'

He said the people of Northern Ireland owed a tremendous debt of gratitude to the men and women of the reserve.

'I recognise that there is an ongoing threat from dissident republican terrorists and would seek to reassure both the public and officers that their safety will always be a priority,' he added.

'As far as our remaining FTR colleagues are concerned, I, and my colleagues are proud of their service. We thank them for it, and so should the wider community.'