Reduction in threat level raises question over arming of PSNI officers, report says

A reduction in the threat level in Northern Ireland raises a question over the criteria for arming all Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers, according to a new report from the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

The policing board also said the fact that the weapons are rarely discharged means the force should consider the issue as part of its long-term plans.

Unlike in the rest of the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, all police officers in Northern Ireland currently carry Glock handguns.

The board on Wednesday published its annual human rights report and a special study examining the use of force by the PSNI, which contains a chapter on firearms.

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The board said that officers can lawfully discharge a firearm only when they believe it is absolutely necessary to do so in order to save life or prevent serious injury. All discharges of a firearm must be referred to the Police Ombudsman.

“The use of firearms has fluctuated over the course of the past 10 years,” the report says. “Firearms were drawn 364 times in 2012/13, compared to 440 times in 2021/22. Firearms have only been discharged five times over the past 10 years. The last incident involving firearms was an unintentional discharge in June 2022 and has been referred to the ombudsman.”

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The report recommends a “reduction in the security threat level in Northern Ireland” and says the fact that “officers very rarely have to fire their firearms raises a question about what the criteria should be for issuing firearms to all officers rather than, as in the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, only to those specially trained in their use”.

“The PSNI should consider this issue as part of its longer-term plans,” it goes on.

UK security service MI5 last year decided to reduce the threat level in Northern Ireland from severe to substantial for the first time in 12 years.

The report also recommends that the PSNI should contract an independent research body to ascertain the effect of injuries to individuals hit by plastic bullets or stun grenades or bitten by police dogs.

“The police have access to an extensive range of powers to support delivery of their duties,” policing board chair Deirdre Toner said. “It is therefore essential for confidence in the service that the public can be assured police powers are being used both legitimately and proportionately.”

PSNI deputy chief constable Mark Hamilton welcomed the reports, saying “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”. – PA