§ Lord Kilclooneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress has been made towards the recruitment of 1,000 civilians in the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and whether the employment of these civilians will result in a reduction of the number of police officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland below the figure of 7,500. [HL2894]
§ Lord Williams of MostynThe main purpose of civilianisation in the context of Patten is to free up police officers for operational duty. There are no plans to reduce regular numbers either by civilianisation or othewise below 7,500.
The question of recruiting additional civilian staff is under consideration by the chief constable and will be addressed within the overall context of a human resource strategy requested by the Policing Board.