Question
Frank McManus has submitted additional questions for the Chief Constable following consideration of the attached response on Secondments:
- Who pays for the secondee?
- Should the PSNI proactively pursue much, much larger 'in secondees' – say in the region of 40-50-60- XXX at any given time? Would this help with recourse issues if only temporarily?
- Are the majority of secondees Northern Ireland residents?
Answer
Who pays for the secondee?
For incoming secondees, PSNI as the host organisation is responsible for reimbursing the permanent employer for the secondee’s pay and any other costs arising during the secondment period.
Should the PSNI proactively pursue much, much larger 'in secondees' – say in the region of 40-50-60- XXX at any given time? Would this help with recourse issues if only temporarily?
PSNI is required to cover the costs associated with secondments into the organisation. Our current budget allocation therefore limits our ability to offer largerscale secondments at this time. Should PSNI secure additional funding for an increase in our resources, it is intended that we would explore a range of options, including secondments and the transfer of experienced officers, alongside our recruitment programme. We would need to continue to ensure that all of those joining the organisation in a permanent or temporary capacity are appropriately vetted. For police officers secondments or transfers, there would also be a requirement to develop and facilitate a bespoke training programme to address differences in legislation, policing approach and the requirement to be armed.
Are the majority of secondees Northern Ireland residents?
Police staff secondees into the Police Service of Northern Ireland will in the main have been sourced from other organisations participating in the NICS Interchange programme and as such, the majority will be Northern Ireland residents.
The PSNI also operates an exchange protocol with An Garda Síochána. Our last exchange programme operated in 2022/23 when we welcomed two police staff and three police officer participants. We have also in recent years engaged in mutual aid arrangements whereby we would have benefited from and offered support to other policing organisations.
Frank McManus