Sir Hugh Orde used the publication of his last annual report as PSNI Chief Constable today to pay tribute to five officers who died in the line of duty in the past year.
Constable Stephen Carroll was shot dead by the Continuity IRA in March, while four other officers died in a road crash last November.
Mr Orde will take up the presidency of the Association of Chief Police Officers in September after seven years head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
While his annual report focuses on crime levels and the performance of the police, he noted that 2008/2009 was a particularly difficult year for the service.
“We lost five colleagues - Constable Stephen Carroll was brutally murdered by terrorists and Constables James Magee, Kevin Gorman, Declan Greene and Kenneth Irvine tragically died in a road traffic collision near Warrenpoint,” he wrote in the report set to be released today.
“All had one thing in common - they were answering a call for help from their community, the community they served so well.
“Many tributes have been paid to these five officers not only from across Northern Ireland but internationally Indeed, it is a sign of how far we have come here that people from all sides stood together in sorrow at these events.”
Mr Orde, meanwhile, said that all members of the police service had continued to work hard to reduce crime levels and protect the public over the last year. But while crime figures are up, he argued that the increase in recorded crime of 1.5 per cent was relatively small and the first for seven yeas. He said the clearance rate was up from 20.5 per cent to 23 per cent.
“This means we are catching more criminals and putting them before the courts. We are not complacent,” he said.
He said there were almost 10,000 applications for 440 jobs in the PSNI this year.
Mr Orde also highlighted the difficulties the PSNI has faced in tackling legacy issues from the Troubles, which have increased the financial pressure on the force.
The British government has already provided extra money to ensure the additional burden of meeting the dissident threat does not endanger neighbourhood policing provisions.
PA