Police cuts plan criticised

MOVES to axe half of Northern Ireland’s police command areas were challenged yesterday by the man overseeing changes to the service.

As Oversight Commissioner Al Hutchinson urged Sinn Féin to end its boycott of the developing arrangements, he warned against slashing district units too soon.

Mr Hutchinson insisted such a dramatic scaling back could be at odds with the Patten proposals for giving the public access to officers through the District Policing Partnerships (DPP).