Northern Ireland cops issue plea for more riot-trained officers over fears of Brexit backlash
Cops in Northern Ireland have issued a plea for riot-trained officers to help in the region after Brexit
NORTHERN IRELAND cops have issued a plea for riot trained officers to help in the region after Brexit.
An email was sent to officers across Britain asking for “level 2 public order trained officers” to volunteer to help the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as part of their Brexit preparations.
Three training days have been lined up in March ahead of our leaving date on 29 March.
It comes amid fears that tensions would spark up again in the region – especially if there is a hard border. Level 2 Public Order Officers are trained to deal with “spontaneous or pre-planned public order”.
A PSNI spokeswoman told The Sun: “PSNI are working closely with other UK policing partners in our planning processes.
“While there is, as yet, no indication that mutual aid will be required, preparations for mutual aid form part of our ongoing planning work.
“Planning around mutual aid is something that happens every year across policing and if required, the provision of mutual aid to police services is provided through the National Police Co-ordination Centre.”
A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman said: “Forces routinely share officers through Mutual Aid. It is used to ensure an appropriate police presence exists where there is increased demand for it.”
A police source added: “Obviously they have to prepare for all eventualities, but asking for many volunteers shows there are concerns about violence flaring up - especially to do with the border.
“Northern Irish officers are well equipped to deal with public order, but the extra level 2 trained officers means PSNI officers won’t have to be redeployed from other towns and cities leaving them understaffed.”
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Last month former US Secretary of State John Kerry warned it was “imperative” to resolve the issues thrown up by Brexit surrounding the Irish border in a way that does not reignite the Troubles.
He warned: “It could re-heat passions one way or the other or both depending on what it is. We have to see how this is going to be resolved.
In November Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) chairman Mark Lindsay called for “certainty, direction and clarity” around Brexit and what it means for policing in Northern Ireland.
He added: “We need hundreds more officers if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal. The case has been previously made and decisions are overdue.”
It comes after it was announced the Treasury would be giving the PSNI £16.3m in Brexit funding – with the force hoping to recruit an extra 308 officers and staff by April 2020.
The force bid for the additional resources in light of the potential challenges posed in policing the border after the UK’s EU exit.
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