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Number of suspended officers highest since PSNI formed
Thursday, 22 January 2009
The number of police officers suspended for alleged misconduct is now at its highest level since the PSNI was formed, it was revealed today.
Forty two have been removed from their duties as they await the outcome of either internal disciplinary hearings or in some cases criminal prosecutions.
Alleged involvement in running a brothel, drunken driving and downloading porn on police computers are among the issues under investigation.
The number of suspensions has risen dramatically in the last eight months from a total of 30 in May.
At that time the Metropolitan police in London, which is three times the size of the PSNI, had 19 officers suspended.
The figures were released by the Policing Board's Human Rights committee today.
Board member Basil McCrea denied the figures suggested more wrongdoing within the police and said they were instead proof that the service was starting to deal more effectively with such incidents.
"We think this, whilst not exactly good news, is actually the sort of oversight needed in the police," said the Ulster Unionist MLA.
"Because the vast majority of the police are very honourable, decent people, doing a very good job."
The Lagan Valley representative added: "I certainly couldn't envisage that within a large organisation that there aren't some mistakes made, so I expected that there would be some figures there (in regard to suspensions).
"What encourages me in this particular instance is that the police are taking action and are seen to be taking action."
In December last year the PSNI revealed that four officers had been suspended and four repositioned after mobile phone video footage allegedly showed them recklessly driving police vehicles.
The PSNI was formed in 2001.
A spokesman for the service said it took any allegation of wrongdoing extremely seriously.
However, he said the number of suspensions had to be viewed in the context of the overall size of the force, which currently stands at more than 8,500 full and part-time officers.
"The Police Service expects its staff to behave professionally, ethically and with the utmost integrity at all times," he said.
"Any conduct, whether on or off duty, which brings or is likely to bring discredit on the Police Service may be investigated in order to establish whether or not a breach of the Code of Ethics has occurred.
"A breach of the code may result in a criminal or disciplinary investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman or the Police Service and, consistent with the seriousness of an allegation, an officer may be suspended or repositioned pending the outcome of both a criminal and misconduct investigation.
"The Police Service, like any other organisation, has a disciplinary process which officers must go through. All disciplinary proceedings in connection with suspected offences committed by officers who have been suspended from duty will be dealt with as expeditiously as possible. However the officers must be subject to our disciplinary process and, where applicable, the criminal process."
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The only sensible and seemingly knowledgable comment on here is that from Peter.
Who was it that overseen those contracts to which he refers? Thats right the powers that be! Some officers do deserve to be suspended but my information points to a process of hit & miss. The internal investigations branch are something of a law onto themselves and without external checks. Thats right not even the Ombudsman will investigate their actions.
What do you do if you want to complain about IIB? Its simple really, don't bother they will do what they want!
Posted by Phil | 26.03.09, 19:40 GMT
Dealing with various public sector organisations the PSNI seems to operate different rules to other UK police forces. I would suggest that someone takes a long hard look into contracts awarded over the last number of years for possible conflicts of interest as these may exist within these large contracts awarded. I am sure these would be considered as breaches of normal conduct and it would be interesting to see what an investigation discovered.
Posted by Peter | 06.03.09, 21:49 GMT
Barry lets agree to disagree, from my personal experience the psni are lousy at their jobs and I am not talking politically motivated crimes. they just seem so more complacent about crime in general Maybe its just they society we live in.
Posted by david | 01.02.09, 00:41 GMT
David I have already stated that everything should be on merit. That isn't even up for question. I believe that you are shifting the debate to now to'glorified traffic wardens' as opposed to the bigoted undertones of your first exchanges of the debate. I never said they were the worlds greatest police force but to say that there is more corruption and ineptness now than before 50/50 recruitment is ridiculous. It is the fact that there is more accountablility now with the police that these incidents are seeing the light of day. In previous years with the RUC as they were the armed wing of the state and were seen to be engaged in a war with republicans insurgents such reports of inteptitude, corruption and coverups couldn't possibly have seen the light of day, never mind in daily newspapers. There were factors of morale within the force and propaganda issues against insurgents that the corruptions (which were there as we are all now well aware of) couldn't possibly be acknowledged
Posted by Barry | 30.01.09, 09:16 GMT
Barry you are missing the point because of the 50/50 recruitment policy deserving people are missing out and lets call a spade a spade the the police force as it is now are totlly inept and nothing but glorified traffic wardens I have personally been involved with this new profesional force and as yet am left wanting.
Posted by David | 29.01.09, 23:17 GMT
I resent the fact that you are insinuating that I am a bigot when you are the one coming out with outlandish comments about the recruitment policies of the police force of this state. Like it or not you are implying that since Catholics have been joining the police force en masse that standards have started to slide and corruption has increased, if you can't see the bigoted undertones of this statement there clearly is no hope for you. I invite you to look over my comments and point out to the part where I have shown to be bigoted. I have merely told the truth. You cannot deny that the RUC where on the whole a force that didn't welcome nationalists to its ranks, its true otherwise we wouldnt have had the Patton report and its recommended changes. It is also well documented that they had corruption throughout its ranks, there have been enough enquiries to testify to that.I'm not saying there were not good men in it for one moment but he organisation needed changed for a reason.
Posted by Barry | 29.01.09, 10:00 GMT
Beleive it or not barry I am not a bigot in the slightest sense of the word I have some very good friends on both sides of the community, but is not hard to see you are the bigot here, the Ruc with the exception of a small minority were an excellent force the psni standards have slipped so much the only thing they are capable of are issuing tickets for traffic offences
Posted by David | 28.01.09, 12:41 GMT
Yes everything should be on merit David but I'll wager you don't have the details of the religious and social backgrounds of the officer's in question who have been accused of corrupt acts. Basically you were blaming one side (which I would wager to be Nationalist/Catholic)without having all the facts of the case. You also said that they couldn't hold a candle to the old RUC,an organisation made up primarily of Unionist/Protestants.
No matter how you try to dress this one up David you are being bigoted towards Catholic/Nationalists with no concrete proof of blame. That's bigotry,pure and simple. Plus you are yearning for the previous police force that has been guilty of killing of innocent Nationalists, guilty of assisting loyalist death squads and was by and large an organisation that did not welcome people from that community. Also bigotry and something that should be confined to the history books not lamented over for it's return.
Posted by Barry | 26.01.09, 17:02 GMT
Barry selection should be on meri,t not 50/50 procedure that is used and by using this method to recruit it is possible that more deserving people are excluded.
Posted by david | 26.01.09, 14:41 GMT
No not at all David. I understand the concept of Protestant's holding Irish Passports. It's not that difficult to understand, infact I don't see it's relevance to the debate at all but thanks for sharing that bit of irrelevant information with the rest of the posters. The facts remain that the old RUC were more corrupt than the PSNI. Corruption that includes collusion with killers, cover ups on the killings. Helping their comrades within the force getting away with crimes. Witholding of evidence in important cases so they could get the conviction them and their buddies required, the list goes on and on. Your argument is weak David. Also the fact that you included comments on their selection process has very strong bigoted undertones. Now do you find that difficult to understand?
Posted by Barry | 26.01.09, 09:31 GMT
Barry comedy or not the police force of today do not come close to that of their former counterparts in the RUC and by the way I am an Irish Pasport holder and a protestant "huh i am sure you find that difficult to understand"
Posted by David | 24.01.09, 00:44 GMT
David that is the comedy post of the day right there. Yeah the totally whiter than white incorrubtable all round good eggs of the old RUC. I can see you lament for 'the good old days'. So the PSNI is" intrinsically flawed from the start due to their recruiting policy". Is that due to those untrustworthy uppity papists infiltrating the ranks of that fine institution? Imagine wanting a say in policing matters that they were by and large denied since the enforcement of the state upon them almost 80 years previously. The nerve eh.
It's good to know that fine upstanding dinosaurs like yourself are here to remind folk that there was no such trouble with the white knights of the German monarch's colonial forces.
Posted by Barry | 23.01.09, 12:53 GMT
Be interesting to see whether the ratio of those suspended is also 50 / 50 wouldn't it??
Posted by JT | 23.01.09, 10:44 GMT
This was to be expected. As Long as the 50/50 recruitment target is met everything's honky-dory, even if it means substandard recruits being admitted. But hey the Nationalists are starting to come round and don't feel as hard done by as they once were. Although I think the car thieves...sorry I meant joyriders of West Belfast are being discriminated against. The PSNI seem to constantly chasing stolen cars around this area.
Posted by William | 22.01.09, 19:05 GMT
maybe its something to do with suspended with full pay ,,, take your time think about it
Posted by hg | 22.01.09, 18:18 GMT
they should all be sacked and proper police should be imployed, psni are no good, they have never been able to do anything to help me
Posted by Big dave | 22.01.09, 17:53 GMT
Somehow these figures do not surprise me as the psni is intrinsically flawed from the start due to their recruiting policy. The officers now serving with the Psni and I mean those recruited from 2001 could not hold a candle to their colleagues in tha RUC.
Posted by David | 22.01.09, 16:32 GMT