Debate contribution: Public Order: Policing Costs
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 19 October 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Public Order: Policing Costs
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5795821
Read the official Assembly record
Text
With your permission, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, I wish to answer questions 6 and 9 together. The Chief Constable took the decision to engage mutual aid assistance for the ongoing policing operation at Drumcree, and I support him in that decision. Mutual aid comes at a cost, and that cost is increasing daily. The bill for that assistance will come to the Chief Constable and to me. As I have stated previously and made clear to the Secretary of State, the cost of mutual aid cannot be met by the PSNI from its existing budget, and I have repeated my calls for the costs to be met in full by the NIO. The utilisation and deployment of policing resources are ultimately operational matters for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. However, significant and sustained public order incidents inevitably place additional demands on those resources. They can require substantial officer deployments, specialist capabilities and, in some circumstances, mutual aid. It is important to remind Members that, on top of the financial costs incurred, other policing activity will invariably be postponed, reduced or cancelled due to the need for officers to be redeployed to deal with potential public order incidents. In addition, there is the substantial welfare impact on police officers, staff and their families. The pressures encountered can continue after the immediate incident through associated investigations and criminal justice activity. Resource pressures will also be felt elsewhere, including the courts and legal aid and potentially in prisons. It is a reality that the consequences of public order incidents extend beyond policing and can have wider implications for community confidence, cohesion and perceptions of safety. When incidents contribute to increased community tensions, an effective response requires engagement beyond the PSNI, involving government, statutory partners and community organisations. The response should therefore not be viewed solely through the lens of police resources. Wider work to support communities, reduce tensions, maintain confidence and prevent further escalation is also vital.
331 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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