Financial pressures impacting PSNI’s operational capacity, says watchdog

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

A long-term squeeze on the PSNI’s budget and ongoing uncertainty about Northern Ireland’s funding are hitting the service’s operational capacity, the policing inspectorate has said.

A report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), published on Friday, found budget reductions and recruitment freezes have led to reduced officer and staff numbers, made worse by high levels of sickness absence and adjusted duties.

The Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) has described it as “a clear, unmistakable and appalling indictment” of the Government for failing to fund the PSNI properly.

The Police Effectiveness, Efficiency and Legitimacy (Peel) inspection was requested by Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long in September 2025; she asked HMICFRS to grade the organisation’s performance in two areas.

They were: attracting, developing, and retaining the workforce, creating a diverse and inclusive workplace; and using its powers fairly, appropriately, and with justification.

The report found the force was “adequate” in both.

Lee Freeman, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said inspectors found that, to meet demand and fill gaps, the PSNI frequently uses overtime and cancels officers’ rest days, which contributes to high levels of fatigue and burnout.

He said uncertainty around Northern Ireland’s funding means the service often does not know its operating budget until halfway through the financial year.

The report highlights the significant operational pressures linked to funding, workforce capacity, wellbeing and supervision but despite these ongoing challenges it is pleasing to note that the report recognises the continued professionalism and commitment of PSNI officers and staff

This makes planning difficult and affects when inflation-related pay increases are made, which can impact morale.

Despite restarting recruitment of officers and staff, the PSNI says it will take years to restore capacity in specialist areas.

This is partly as a result of the capacity of its training facilities; however, Freeman said he was “pleased to learn” that the force is investing in a new police college.

The inspection found, in the meantime, that the service will not have enough detectives to meet demand, and ongoing workload pressures risk affecting well-being, performance and retention.

It said the service is committed to supporting workforce health and well-being through an extensive range of psychological resources.

Still, it raised concerns about “high levels” of mental health-related absences and the “high proportion” of officers applying for ill-health retirement.

The HMICFRS report also found that while the use of stop and search powers by PSNI officers is “reasonable and proportionate”, record keeping and supervision standards “need to improve”.

It also said staffing issues mean there is less time for it and that the rate at which stop and search is used is the lowest since records began 20 years ago.

In addition, the service does not accurately record how many times officers use force on members of the public, inspectors found.

During their audit of body-worn video footage, they discovered not all officers submitted a form recording the use of force when they should have.

Responding to the report, PFNI chair Liam Kelly said: “You could be forgiven for thinking this was a deliberate run-down of policing services in Northern Ireland,” adding both Stormont and British Government Ministers should ”hang their heads in shame”.

“This report vindicates all we’ve been saying for years. We’re not scare-mongering when we say the service is close to a tipping point.”

In a statement, Long said she welcomed the report and said its findings “must be carefully considered by the PSNI and policing partners”.

“The report highlights the significant operational pressures linked to funding, workforce capacity, wellbeing and supervision,” she said, “but despite these ongoing challenges it is pleasing to note that the report recognises the continued professionalism and commitment of PSNI officers and staff.”

She said she has “consistently and repeatedly highlighted the funding deficit” faced by the PSNI and her department.

“We simply cannot address these shortcomings without the appropriate funding,” she continued.

The PSNI also said it welcomed the findings of the inspection.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said: “It might seem unusual for anyone to welcome a grading of adequate, but the inspection makes clear this performance comes in a context of long-term budget reductions and uncertain funding arrangements.

“This is, sadly, just the latest independent assessment of PSNI to set out the impact of our chronic underfunding and it’s in this context that even this level of performance is remarkable.”

He said he was “particularly pleased” at the stop and search findings and said: “I hope the public, too, can take some confidence from the finding that stop and search and use of force were subject to robust and effective oversight and scrutiny.”