Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA has said fundamental reform of police accountability is required after the Chief Constable acknowledged that PSNI officers can be more likely than officers elsewhere to wait until they are assaulted before acting against a threat.

His comments follow the injury of seven officers in Belfast on Sunday, at the Emerge festival at Boucher Road Playing Fields and at Custom House Square. Two were injured seriously enough that they could not continue their duties, one requiring hospital treatment and another bitten on the arm.

Jon Burrows MLA said:

“I have warned about this situation for many years, and I am glad that it has finally been acknowledged at the most senior level of policing.

“It is simply shocking that police officers in Northern Ireland can feel apprehensive about using lawful force to protect themselves and the public. No officer should feel they must wait to be assaulted before restraining someone or dealing with an obvious threat because they fear they will not be supported afterwards.

“For too long, the Police Ombudsman's handling of complaints involving the use of force has been too slow, punitive and disproportionate. I have also previously raised concerns about how the PSNI's own Professional Standards Department has handled use-of-force cases.

“Alongside this, many politicians, particularly those in Sinn Féin, have repeatedly demonised police officers and denounced their actions on the basis of a few seconds of social media footage, stripped of any operational context and before the facts have been established.

“The cumulative effect has created an atmosphere in which honest officers can be fearful that using lawful, necessary and proportionate force will place their careers, reputations and livelihoods at risk.

“Independent oversight is essential, and officers who are corrupt, predatory or abuse their powers must be identified and removed from policing. However, that system must also distinguish between genuine wrongdoing and hardworking officers making difficult split-second decisions while confronting violence and protecting the public.

“That is why the Ulster Unionist Party believes fundamental reform of the Police Ombudsman is necessary. Its resources and attention should be firmly focused on serious misconduct, corruption and the small number of predatory officers who have no place in policing, not on subjecting honest officers to unnecessarily prolonged and disproportionate investigations.

“We also support creating a specific criminal offence of knowingly making a false or malicious complaint against a police officer. This would protect the right to make genuine complaints while providing a meaningful deterrent against those who deliberately misuse the complaints system to intimidate or punish officers.

“The Chief Constable has said officers should use force when necessary and will be supported. Those words must now translate into meaningful support on the ground.

“There must also be tougher sentencing for those who assault police officers, particularly repeat offenders. The men and women who protect our communities must never be treated as punchbags. They must know that their leadership, the justice system and wider society will stand behind them when they act lawfully to protect themselves and the public.”