Question
1. Concerns have been raised by UUP Party representatives in what they understand is a planned reduction in security personnel at police stations in Fermanagh & Omagh and Mid Ulster Council areas. Colleagues believe the reduction will see just one civilian security officer at night and some stations reduced to just one during the day as well, with implementation planned from the middle of next month.
Their concerns include the following:
• If a member of the public arrives at the pedestrian gate in distress and the security officer is trying to assist and provide advice, at the same time a police car is trying to exit the station to attend an emergency, the staff member cannot do both jobs;
• If the sole security officer takes sick while on duty, there is no cover to allow the person to be attended to or even to call for assistance;
• The security officer has to leave the post to use the toilet or eat some food, this cannot be carried out safely as there is no cover;
• Given that there is a significant dissident terrorist threat at present it is extremely unsafe from a security situation to have just one security staff member on duty at these police stations at a time.
Finally, I am informed a similar proposal in September / October 2018 met with significant local resistance and was dropped.
Answer
Their concerns include the following:
- If a member of the public arrives at the pedestrian gate in distress and the security officer is trying to assist and provide advice, at the same time a police car is trying to exit the station to attend an emergency, the staff member cannot do both jobs;
- If the sole security officer takes sick while on duty, there is no cover to allow the person to be attended to or even to call for assistance;
- The security officer has to leave the post to use the toilet or eat some food, this cannot be carried out safely as there is no cover;
- Given that there is a significant dissident terrorist threat at present it is extremely unsafe from a security situation to have just one security staff member on duty at these police stations at a time.
Finally, I am informed a similar proposal in September / October 2018 met with significant local resistance and was dropped.
Grateful if you would ask the CC to confirm if these plans are in place and whether he accepts the arguments against, as presented above.
I can confirm that there is a planned change to the security arrangements at police stations in the Fermanagh & Omagh and Mid Ulster Council areas. The reduction is due to commence in April 2021, however it should be noted that the security provision across these sites will still be greater than the vast majority of police stations across Northern Ireland.
The changes were initially proposed in 2018 and a wide range of issues were considered in detail prior to implementation. The decision to proceed was taken following a robust review of our working practices and those stations in which two guards were considered to be warranted have retained this provision.
The issues you have raised were identified and addressed as part of our consultation process. PSNI Standing Orders will also be amended from April 2021 to reflect the reduction and ensure the safety of all security personnel.
The Member will understand that it is inappropriate for me to provide written detail of the revised arrangements for security reasons, but I will arrange for the District Commander to provide him with a personal briefing to offer reassurance.
Mike Nesbitt - Ulster Unionist