NI officers tell of low morale

Large numbers of disillusioned police officers are lining up to leave the new Northern Ireland police force, it was claimed tonight.

Several rank-and-file officers hit out at the British government’s handling of the introduction of sweeping reforms which they say has left morale at an all-time low.

Former London Metropolitan deputy assistant commissioner Hugh Orde, who has just taken over as Chief Constable, has admitted facing huge difficulties.

But at a conference of the police federation near Belfast attended by British Secretary of State John Reid, the mood was dark.

Gary Murphy, a constable who has completed nearly 24 years service, voiced bitter opposition to the severance arrangements which mean he cannot leave for another three years.

He said: “I don’t want to be part of the police any more but I’m trapped.

“There are a large number of officers who want to get out because it’s not the police force they joined.”

Mr Murphy, 41, who works in the control room at Coleraine station in Co Derry, claimed police sacrifices have been ignored.

“I’ve had 11 colleagues killed during my service and I’ve been injured myself in serious bomb explosions.

“Right now I feel it was all for no use.”

His vitriol was directed at the British government for pressing ahead with the Patten programme of reform.

And he warned: “There’s no short-term answer because you have lost so many officers with up to 40 years experience.

“It’s like severing an arm, it will take time to heal.”

Full-time reservists had arrived for the conference seeking an end to the uncertainty which has plagued them.

Under the Patten blueprint they are to be phased out.

But one Armagh-based officer with 11 years service who asked not to be named outlined the bitter resentment the situation has provoked.

“We feel we’ve been hung out to dry,” he said.

“The government has done nothing for us, they are only interested in certain sections of the community.”

The officer was heartened by new chief constable Hugh Orde’s insistence that the full-time reserves were essential to his plans for frontline policing.

“But at the end of the day is he really making the decisions?” he asked.

“He wants to retain us but we keep hearing different things.

“My contract’s due for renewal next year and if I get a new one I’ll have a job for four years.

“But after that I just don’t know.”

Peter Murphy, a full-time reserve constable based in east Belfast, was equally plagued by doubts.

He claimed the uncertainty was a major factor in the huge sickness levels which hit police in Northern Ireland.

“As soon as it’s sorted out you will see a big difference,” he said.

“A lot of the sickness is down to the stress of officers not knowing their future.”

Their plight received a sympathetic hearing from one of the regulars attending the conference.

Mark Morrison, a constable based at Garvagh, Co Derry, lambasted the British government for keeping them in the dark.

“They are worried the chief constable will be left with such a drastically depleted force that he cannot keep a lid on the violence,” he said.

“But they need to make a decision soon.”

Mr Morrison admitted the strain of constant scrutiny had taken a major toll on officers.

“In some ways it’s not a bad thing, but if there’s street disorder in Belfast it seems to be the police’s fault rather than the people who are rioting,” he said.

Mr Murphy, a 54-year-old who joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary after leaving the Army, added: “We are desperately short of manpower.”

A constable based in Strabane, Co Tyrone, claimed the staffing shortages had left the force fighting a losing battle against terrorists.

“It’s time we took the kid gloves off,” he insisted.

“The paramilitaries are still recruiting and still targeting police.

“We need to be tough on them or else it will never end.”