PSNI Chief: Troubles Legacy Laws Crushing Police

0:00On April 2nd, PSNI Chief Constable John Bucher is calling out the government for ignoring heavy pressures on Northern Ireland's police from troubles. Legacy laws He says the force lacks the staff and time to review mountains of old documents before handing them over to the new Legacy Commission and doing so. Could mess with the Commission's independence. Back in May 2024, all UK police investigations and the trouble's killings got shut down under the old Conservative Legacy Act replaced by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. Now the Labour government is pushing a reformed version with more powers, agreed with Ireland. This is hitting hard on daily policing, pulling officers and cash away from neighbourhood safety, fighting paramilitaries, tackling violence against, women and girls, and stopping child exploitation online. Bucher points out no extra funding for rising civil cases from the troubles era, all coming from the operational budget. He's got 167 people on legacy work right now, but says they need at least 200 more, completely

1:06unfunded. Delays are showing up in things like the Omod bombing inquiry from 1998, where better IT could speed things up, but capital funding is missing. Bucher stresses the troubles, legacy needs a full fix beyond just Commission cash, or it'll all fall apart under these uneven loads.