THE PSNI will spend more time on the beat and dealing directly with the public, according to the latest policing plan.
A commitment to what Chief Constable Matt Baggott calls “personal policing” is a strong feature of the plan, only the second since the formation of the PSNI in 2001.
The plan pledges that people can contact police quickly and easily and that policing will be “tailored” to local concerns, such as anti-social behaviour, which accounts for 40 per cent of call-outs.
It also gives an undertaking that policing will be made more visible, with more officers on the beat for longer and engaging directly with local communities.
It further pledges that officers will provide feedback to victims of crime. Policemen and women will also be given more discretion to resolve low-level incidents on the spot rather than resort to the courts and the formal judicial process.
The independent policing plan 2011-2014, drawn up by the policing board, which comprises political members drawn from the Assembly parties among others, has been agreed by Mr Baggott and Minister for Justice David Ford.
Sinn Féin policing board member Alex Maskey said: “Sinn Féin has made it clear that any police service worth its salt, purporting to represent the community, must ensure that it has the necessary support of the people. We have seen in recent times, not least around the issue of balanced representation and for people like the McGurk families, that the PSNI still has some way to travel.
“For our part we will continue to ensure that we work to ensure our people have a policing service . . . with the support of all of our people.”
Meanwhile, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland has announced he is to leave the force.
Mr McCausland is the PSNI’s longest serving assistant chief constable and has decided to take the severance payment due to him under proposals outlined by the 1999 Patten commission which recommended the formation of the PSNI.
Had he decided to remain in post, Mr McCausland would have forfeited a package worth some £500,000 (€568,000).