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07/11/2005
Police officers launch legal case
Over 5,000 serving and former police officers who allege negligence by their employer have launched a legal case in a bid to win compensation.
In the biggest group action ever taken in the NI High Court, the officers claim that they faced added unnecessary risk created by the alleged negligence of their employer, the Chief Constable.
The case against the Chief Constable will hinge on how adequately equipped the officers were to deal with the effects of the traumatic nature of their duties. It will also be argued that the authorities are alleged to have failed to deal properly with the predictable psychiatric and psychological consequences of such duties.
In a statement the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, the group which represents the interests of RUC/PSNI officers, said: "The action covers the period from the commencement of the Troubles in Northern Ireland but the main focus is on the late 1970s onwards. The plaintiffs [officers] allege that by that stage, the RUC had knowledge of the potential problems facing a workforce that was being exposed to severe trauma on a daily basis.
"There was sufficient evidence to indicate that a substantial number of officers would come to psychiatric harm if systems were not put in place to protect them. The Force did nothing effective for too long. When they began to think about the problem, they took too long about doing it. When the group who had thought about it recommended a package of measures, only some of them were implemented, and they came too slowly."
During the course of the trial, 12 lead cases will be heard as to illustrate the central issues in the case.
It is anticipated the trial will last until Easter next year.
(SP/GB)
In the biggest group action ever taken in the NI High Court, the officers claim that they faced added unnecessary risk created by the alleged negligence of their employer, the Chief Constable.
The case against the Chief Constable will hinge on how adequately equipped the officers were to deal with the effects of the traumatic nature of their duties. It will also be argued that the authorities are alleged to have failed to deal properly with the predictable psychiatric and psychological consequences of such duties.
In a statement the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, the group which represents the interests of RUC/PSNI officers, said: "The action covers the period from the commencement of the Troubles in Northern Ireland but the main focus is on the late 1970s onwards. The plaintiffs [officers] allege that by that stage, the RUC had knowledge of the potential problems facing a workforce that was being exposed to severe trauma on a daily basis.
"There was sufficient evidence to indicate that a substantial number of officers would come to psychiatric harm if systems were not put in place to protect them. The Force did nothing effective for too long. When they began to think about the problem, they took too long about doing it. When the group who had thought about it recommended a package of measures, only some of them were implemented, and they came too slowly."
During the course of the trial, 12 lead cases will be heard as to illustrate the central issues in the case.
It is anticipated the trial will last until Easter next year.
(SP/GB)
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