Written question asked by Lord Laird (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 June 2005.

Northern Ireland: Newtownards Police Shifts

Question: With regard to the Police district command unit (DCU) based in Newtownards, for each of the Saturday nights which occurred during the month of May: (a) at what time the night shift began and ended; (b) how many uniformed officers, plain clothed officers and undercover officers were on duty within the DCU at the times concerned; (c) how many officers were detailed for foot patrols and how many were assigned to vehicles-bound duties; and (d) from what locations the above categories of officers were detailed and where they performed their duties.

Answer: 1 and 2 Date Time Uniform police Plain clothes police Undercover police Saturday 7/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 38 0 0 Saturday 14/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 38 0 0 Saturday 21/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 36 0 0 Saturday 28/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 38 0 0 3 Date Time Mobile Patrol Foot Patrol Saturday 7/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 18 12 Saturday 14/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 18 12 Saturday 21/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 16 12 Saturday 28/5/05 8 pm to 8 am 18 12 Note. Other officers were detailed for other duties such as custody staff, station duty officer, file preparation throughout the various DCU stations etc. 4 The numbers of officers on duty throughout the DCU during the respective night shift is outlined at sub-question 1. For operational/patrol security reasons we do not disclose how many officers are on duty at a specific station during a specific time period.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 394; 672 c120WA
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Deployment Police Location Police Service of Northern Ireland Working hours Police patrolling Newtownards
Contains statistics: Yes