The Police Service of Northern Ireland is investigating 21 officers, staff and contractors for suspected "productivity spoofing" during remote working, Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton has said.

In a letter to Policing Board members, Singleton said Operation Akarpos was launched by the Anti-Corruption Unit to prevent abuse of home working arrangements and ensure productivity.

So-called spoofing can involve taking steps to make a user appear active when they are away from their laptop, Singleton explained. He said the investigation had found no systemic abuse of home working across the PSNI.

Individuals' working-from-home privileges have been amended where home working is unavoidable, or removed where it is not, he said.

Singleton said the PSNI would not tolerate inefficiency or dishonesty given its underfunding, and that communities need to see value for public money.

Politicians have welcomed the investigation. SDLP MLA Colin McGrath, a Policing Board member, said remote working can be positive and that it would be unfair if a small number of cases undermined it.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said he was glad police were taking action and that lessons should be learned beyond the PSNI. UUP leader Jon Burrows supported checks to identify those pretending to work.

Remote working was introduced for PSNI staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. Singleton said it kept the service working and the PSNI is keen to retain it after the pandemic.

In a separate development, the PSNI has launched a 10-part podcast series titled "PSNI Beyond the Badge", giving the public a chance to hear from officers and staff about their experiences.