The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s chief constable has warned that the government’s legacy proposals will fail unless the PSNI is funded to meet the demands of the new commission.

Jon Boutcher made the comments at a recent meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board after the publication of the Troubles Bill. The legislation proposes a reformed Legacy Commission and the restoration of a limited number of legacy inquests.

Legacy investigations cost the PSNI an estimated £24 million each year. Mr Boutcher backed a recommendation from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for a new, recurring and ring-fenced funding stream to cover these costs.

He highlighted continuing financial pressures, noting that two months into the new financial year Stormont has yet to agree a budget. The PSNI faces projected shortfalls of £5 million, £92 million and £149 million over the next three years in resource funding. Capital funding in the draft budget is down 20% on the previous year, which Mr Boutcher said will quickly affect services. There is also an urgent but unfunded need to replace public order vehicles and an ageing air fleet.

The chief constable said the exceptional pressures of dealing with the past reduce what is available for contemporary policing. He added that the committee’s report supports his position that legacy costs are exceptional and should not constrain today’s policing.

Mr Boutcher told the board he was increasingly concerned about a one-dimensional government approach that focuses solely on the new commission. Without proper funding for the PSNI to service the demands of the expanding body, he said, the entire legacy project will fail. He added that detectives and staff currently assigned to legacy work should be deployed elsewhere in the organisation, including in the Public Protection Branch.