Police are “failing” victims in dealing with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s troubled past because of a lack of funding and an agreed approach, the PSNI chief constable has said.
Jon Boutcher said some £160 million has been spent on legacy over the last ten years.
This includes investigating legacy offences, staff to provide documentation for legal cases, and dealing with civil claims.
He also said the annual cost of dealing with legacy is equivalent to 400 police officers, at a time when the PSNI is severely under-staffed.
Mr Boutcher recently halted researchers working on any cases apart from preparation for the next stage of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, which will start in June.
He said his staff are meeting legal representatives for victims over the delays and legal processes.
Addressing the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Mr Boutcher also described reputational damage being caused to the PSNI over legacy, saying it is feeding off the “outdated and dangerous narrative” of those behind anti-police posters.
“The legacy of our past continues to play a significant part in providing a barrier to trust and confidence in policing in Northern Ireland. Other than some marginal funding for inquests, the PSNI is not funded to address legacy,” he said.
“We have insufficient resources in the departments that deal with legacy that resulted in us failing victims and communities.
“Those failures include slow and partial information disclosure, the inappropriate categorisation and management of sensitive information, and criminal investigations either not being completed or undertaken in a timely fashion.”
Mr Boutcher said he is not criticising officers and staff who deal with legacy, and they have done an “incredible job with the resources that they have”.
“They continue to do their very best, but they’ve been let down by the absence of a plan and the lack of resourcing and funds to properly address legacy litigation, inquests and criminal investigations,” he said.
Outlining the cost of legacy, Mr Boutcher said in total the PSNI have incurred costs of £160 million on legacy matters in the last 10 years, and there could potentially be further cases going on for decades.
“Annually, the cost of legacy equates to approximately 400 police officers,” he told the Policing Board.
“This is a shocking figure at a time when the service faces unprecedented operational pressure.
“In the last 10 years, the cost of investigating legacy murders has reached £94 million.
“Since 2018 we’ve resolved 30 high value civil cases, paying out £25 million to the applicants, including their solicitor costs.
“The cost of managing this complex, time-consuming pressure to us as an organisation was £18.5 million.
“There are over 1,100 outstanding civil actions against the PSNI. That’s up from 150 in 2014, the figure is likely to continue rising.
“Looking ahead, we expect the cost of our involvement in the Omagh Bombing Inquiry to be between £12 million and £15 million.”
He also said they expect that working with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) will cost £1.5 million a year.
“The PSNI is not funded for these issues,” he said.
“It’s time for an honest conversation about the PSNI and how the PSNI and legacy is actually funded.
“We need a dedicated, properly resourced approach to legacy, which is distinct from the day-to-day work of the PSNI.”
He was also critical of government, saying he is told legacy funding is a devolved matter by the UK Government, while others say it is a matter for Westminster.
“This needs to be sorted. This needs everybody around the table working to resolve legacy, to allow this society to properly move forward,” he said.
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