PSNI to be armed with CS gas

Police officers in Northern Ireland are to be equipped with CS spray in a new move to quell trouble on the streets, it emerged tonight.

Chief Constable Hugh Orde plans to have the weapon introduced by this summer but not in riot situations.

An order worth more than £600,000 (€890,000) is to be placed after the policing board in Belfast endorsed the scheme, which will allow officers to disable troublemakers.

A policing source disclosed: “This is more for one-to-one combat and to be used in very specific circumstances.

“It’s another alternative to the baton.”

Even though other UK forces already use the directional spray that incapacitates offenders for a short time, police in Northern Ireland have resisted until now.

Civil liberties groups hit out at the plans, insisting there were still major uncertainties over the equipment’s safety.

But officers look set to be carrying the canisters within months in special holsters which have been put on order.

A PSNI spokeswoman confirmed: “Guidelines are currently being drafted with regard to operational use of CS spray.

“CS spray will not be used until these guidelines are approved.”

The weapon has not been proposed as an alternative to the controversial baton rounds used to deal with rioters during 30 years of violence on the streets of Belfast and Derry.

But campaigners for less lethal methods also criticised the new spray.

Paul O’Connor of the Derry-based Pat Finucane Centre said: “The jury is very much out on the safety of CS spray.

“There are huge dangers for people with heart conditions and problems with their eyesight.”

Mr O’Connor also claimed the plans were approved without proper public consultation.

“This was backed by a secret meeting of the policing board, which raises very serious concerns.”

Joe Byrne, a nationalist SDLP representative on the board, accepted the concerns.

But he insisted: “Senior police management have to go ahead with the procurement of this riot control system.

“There are many of us who still have reservations about the use of CS spray, but given the absence of a suitable alternative the board acknowledges its need for use.”