Police Federation accuses Policing Board of merely paying lip service to officer's human rights

"A scant regard for officer health and safety."

Not exactly the warmest of Police Federation welcomes to the Policing Board's annual human rights report.

Given the ongoing terror threat PSNI officers here face, all police officers carry a Glock handgun - on and off duty. That's not the case in other parts of the UK and in the Republic of Ireland.

Published today, the report says a reduction in the security threat level in Northern Ireland raises a question about the future criteria for arming all PSNI officers. Not just that though. But because firearms have only been discharged five times over the past 10 years.

The report makes a series of recommendations - as part of its use of force review. One of them is that the PSNI considers the issue of arming officers as part of its long-term plans.

The Police Federation - which represents rank and file officers is outraged. It's Chairman, Liam Kelly, accused the Policing Board of paying lip service to officers' human rights and said “instead of inhibiting their ability to protect both themselves and the public, the Board should be focusing on supporting the PSNI to get an effective budget so the Chief Constable can recommence recruitment, increase much-needed resources and ensure our officers are paid properly."

The DUP was equally appalled at the suggestion.

The party's policing spokesperson Trevor Clarke MLA told UTV that while we don't want a society where officers have to be armed, equally "we don't want police officers going to work in their cars and having bombs thrown at them. We don't want police stations with bombs left outside them. We don't want police officers having their homes attacked or shots fired at homes."

Believing the report should be binned, Mr Clarke said "I think some officers will be wondering, why did I sign up for a job for less than £22,000 a year where I put my life at risk? I'm going to keep others safe. Meanwhile the Policing Board is considering disarming me and making me an easier target than I was six months ago."

Unsurprisingly, Sinn Féin takes a different view.

The party's policing spokesperson, Gerry Kelly MLA, says: "Since the time of the Patten report, which brought the foundations of a new beginning to policing in the North of Ireland, Sinn Féin have been clear on the need to move towards a society where police officers are not routinely armed."

"The Policing Board report has outlined that only five shots have been fired by the PSNI since 2012. There is a strong case for further discussion on moving away from the present situation that all police officers carry guns" he added.

And as for the police themselves?

PSNI Deputy Chief Constable, Mark Hamilton said:  “We welcome these reports. Human Rights are central to everything we do as police officers and the oversight provided by the Policing Board is key to maintaining public confidence in Policing."

"We will continue to work alongside the Policing Board’s Independent Human Rights adviser as we consider and respond to the content of these wide-ranging reports."

The idea of unarmed police officers in Northern Ireland has now been floated. But many believe it's not something that will become a reality any time soon.

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