There has been a significant reduction in Overtime over the last decade. In large part, this has been due to our response to budget cuts and the requirement to live within our means. Equally this new reality has encouraged a more thoughtful and proportionate approach to operational decision making.
That said, PSNI has found it difficult to operate within the reduced budget for overtime. In 2018-19, we recorded again an over spend against the available overtime budget. This overspend was reflective of a number of realities including a lower headcount than desired and significant operational demand.
There is no doubt that the use of overtime will continue as policing is an inherently unpredictable task and demand levels are notoriously difficult to predict due to the operating context. The challenge for PSNI is to identify the right balance and levels of overtime while remaining very mindful of the impacts of officers working additional hours.
The PSNI Overtime Steering Group met on Thursday 28 March to allocate the Overtime budget for 2019-20. As well as managing the transactional business of overtime the Steering Group will also address some of the cultural issues which are attached to overtime allocation. In support of the existing (2017) Service Instruction, an overtime strategy is being developed which will continue to address issues such as; reliance on overtime, overtime reduction, welfare implications of overtime working and accountability.
PSNI will keep the Resources Committee updated with the progress of this work.