33 Police Service of Northern Ireland officers suspended in one year
Thirty-three police officers have been suspended from duty over the past year in Northern Ireland. The suspensions followed a series of allegations including assault, a sexual offence, death threats, being drunk in charge of a loaded firearm and theft.
Two officers were dismissed and four were required to resign over the period from 1 July 2011 to 1 July 2012. The PSNI released the figures following a Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request from the BBC.
Full pay
Other allegations against suspended PSNI officers included failure to investigate, inappropriate use of police systems, criminal damage, perverting the course of justice and perjury.
Of the 33 PSNI officers who had to step aside from their duties, none had been suspended for more than a year.
Suspended officers still receive full pay and on 1 July 2012, the officer serving the longest period of suspension had been out of work for 282 days. The total salary paid to the suspended officers was just under £265,000. The officers were suspended for an average of four months.
Read more on this story from the BBC Northern Ireland website
