PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher was speaking on his first full day in post.
Northern Ireland’s new chief constable has vowed to press to ensure policing in the region has the funding it needs.On his first full day in office on Wednesday, he described the service’s financial position as “really challenging”, outlining a £52 million gap in funding this year.
With the Stormont Assembly remaining collapsed amid protest action by the DUP over post-Brexit trading arrangements, there remains no justice minister in post. “What we need to do is understand the cost side of our business, where those costs sit, and how much we have to spend on the priorities that we need to deliver. This is a whole systems approach, this isn’t about looking at removing 5% here and 10% there.
“I am alive to concerns of officers and staff who feel that sometimes they operate in fear of getting things wrong and the unfair consequences of doing that,” he said. Mr Boutcher said in the few weeks he had served as interim chief constable, he “thoroughly enjoyed meeting officers and staff and witnessing the outstanding work they are doing every day”.
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