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 5795833
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I do not have those figures to hand, but I am aware that, unlike in other parts of the UK, major events still draw police resource. In other parts of the UK, that is either done by civilian contractors or the organisers pay for that work to be done. I know that the police and the Policing Board have been looking at that. Given the scale of the challenges that we face, we cannot completely ignore that issue going forward. However, as things stand, even were we to have different arrangements in place, I do not think that anyone would expect civilian contractors to be able to manage something on the scale of the challenge that the police faced at Garvaghy Road or, indeed, may face elsewhere. When people are in conflict, we would be better off — we often talk about early intervention — dealing with that upstream of policing, because it is a drain on police resources when they have to intervene to keep people apart rather than investing in bringing people together.
175 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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