Mr. Alan Todd:

I thank the committee for its invitation and welcome. As has been mentioned, I head up the operational support department and am based at the PSNI headquarters in Belfast. I have had senior responsibility for the delivery of local policing for more than 12 years as the operational district commander for Newry, Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon and as the chief superintendent and assistant chief constable for local policing across Northern Ireland. I am also the national lead in the UK for police contact management and am a director of the Police ICT Company in London. I have had the privilege of working closely with An Garda Síochána for many years, including with the gentlemen to my right in particular but also the rest of the senior team, on cross-Border investigations, cross-Border operations and cross-Border major event planning. I am a graduate of the Garda Síochána executive development programme, which is run by the Garda with the UCS Smurfit School, and I am the co-author of the cross-Border strategies involving the Garda, PSNI and the respective justice Departments, North and South.

Since early 2018, I have been involved in a PSNI review of local policing across Northern Ireland. This review became necessary because our society, crime and, accordingly, how we delivered policing were changing. While crime in Northern Ireland has reduced significantly over the past ten years, we know from experience that the complexity and type of work faced by policing has become more challenging, for example, the changing nature of public protection work. The increasing vulnerability in society is also having an impact on policing. The PSNI regularly deals with approximately 150 calls for service each day linked to a person with identified mental health issues or a related vulnerability. The growth of cyber-enabled crime has impacted on policing significantly, as has the emergence of more diverse communities and an ageing population. In addition to these changing and growing demands, we have a reducing police budget and fewer police officers and police staff.

These impacts are felt right across policing and, indeed, our partners. I would, however, contend that the greatest impacts are likely to be felt in local policing, where there is something of a triple impact. The first impact is that, in organisations where resources are under pressure, local policing as a resource-intensive area will be required to make savings or reduce numbers as part of that effort. This may be accompanied by the consolidation or centralisation of some functions or resources to achieve economies of scale.

The second impact is that, with the increasing complexity in demand, more specialist skills and roles are being deployed within policing to meet them. This increase in specialism in public protection, cybercrime and interagency working, to name but a few areas, inevitably serves to draw further resources away from local policing.

The third impact is that, with increasing demands and reducing resources, the amount of reactive service provision required to be delivered through local officers and its increasing complexity are putting added pressure on the ability to do proactive and preventative work in local communities and fulfil the associated community engagement roles.

These issues are reflected in recent UK reports published on the matter. The National Effectiveness Review 2016 of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services on the functions of neighbourhood policing teams, the College of Policing's modernising neighbourhood policing guidelines published this year and the Police Foundation's report, The Future of Neighbourhood Policing, which was also published in 2018, all point to these stresses and strains.

While the choices being made have a sound basis in threat, risk and harm and in policing and keeping people safe, the inevitable reduction in the visibility of local police, perhaps combined with local station closures, has an impact on public confidence in policing and satisfaction in local services, which were previously based on visibility, accessibility and familiarity. It can also be argued that some of these impacts are felt more in rural communities, including cross-Border ones. In recognition of this, the PSNI has had for some years a rural crime lead who oversees the PSNI's rural crime strategy and the related delivery by us and our partners. This sits alongside relationships and practices established under the original cross-Border policing strategy and that the refreshed cross-Border policing strategy seeks to further develop under a specific strand of work, that being, policing with the community in rural areas. This work entails continuing to build on existing practical co-operation to develop a joint Garda Síochána-Police Service of Northern Ireland crime prevention strategy for the Border region, which will assist the joint Garda-PSNI tasking and co-ordination group.

Funding for policing is a political choice. There are pressures and challenges, but there are also opportunities and answers. Policing and service delivery will need to change and choices will have to be made. Communities and other stakeholders need to be part of that discussion and the decision on what that will look like. There are opportunities that, if properly considered and well delivered, can continue to keep people safe and build confidence in policing.