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Speech on PSNI Full Time Reserve, Northern Ireland Assembly,
Unfortunately, there has been a lot of political emotion and heat brought into the debate, and that is something to be deplored, because the one thing that we all want is to move the policing question on to a non-partisan, non-party-political basis. We want to respect the Police Service, which commands the full support of the House. DUP Members may point at Ms Anderson. She has made points with which I disagree, but some DUP Members have expressed views that, I believe, are wrong and bordering on the intemperate. It is important to approach the subject of the police as calmly as possible and to give our support to the police, who are dealing with a difficult situation. It is wrong, particularly for a Minister, to impugn the decision of the Chief Constable and say that it was political. The Chief Constable made an operational decision in relation to the full-time Reserve. He did so in consultation with the full senior management in the PSNI. I have confidence in the ability of those people to make decisions on a non-political basis, and I believe that the decision was made in accordance with good operational criteria. Therefore, it is wrong for Members to criticise the Chief Constable on a political basis. It is evident that DUP Members disagree with the Chief Constable’s decision, but to import political considerations is unfortunate. The ending of the full-time Reserve was envisaged in the Patten Report; that is the policy context in which the matter has moved. The Chief Constable has decided that it should be completely phased out in two years’ time. That is a considered position. The Chief Constable has made his decision; it should not be altered or halted now and given to the new Chief Constable for revision. It is important that Members are supportive of the leadership of the PSNI. However, by their intemperate language and their imputing of political motives, some Members are undermining the credibility and authority of the Chief Constable. The SDLP signed up to Patten and accepted it, unlike Sinn Féin. In fact, through our work on the Policing Board, we saw through almost 90% of the reforms, which provides us with a police service that is regarded as being impartial, professional and fit for purpose. That depoliticised the politicisation of the police, and that is important. Finally, we on these Benches pay tribute to the 102 reservists who paid the supreme price with their lives. We all should acknowledge that. Yes, the SDLP has criticised the RUC and the RUC Reserve in the past, but, at the same time, we must acknowledge the sacrifice that those men made. It is important to respect that. However,
turning to security, only 90 of the current reservists perform
front line duties, and that does not represent a very large or
significant section of the Police Service. On that basis alone,
the arguments that have been produced are flawed.
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