Threat to DPPs as public shuns meetings
By Jonathan McCambridge
13 June 2006
Concerns were today raised about the viability of Northern Ireland’s District Policing Partnerships (DPPs) after an investigation by the Belfast Telegraph revealed massive public apathy towards the bodies.
More than three years after DPPs were established the numbers of people who attend their public meetings remains very low despite high profile advertising and public relations campaigns.
Figures reveal that on 11 occasions meetings went ahead without a single member of the public in attendance. On 39 further occasions there were three or less people at the meeting.
The partnerships were established in 2003 as a Patten recommendation and have been hailed a success by the Policing Board, the PSNI leadership and the Police Oversight Commissioner.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Telegraph revealed the attendance rates for almost 300 DPP meetings between May 2003 and March 2006 across Northern Ireland.
As well as the 11 occasions with no-one from the public present and 39 with just three or less, the statistics show there were less than 10 people in attendance at 117 of the meetings and less than 20 on a further 101 occasions.
There were only 69 meetings which had in excess of 20 members of the public in attendance.
Belfast DPP met publicly 13 times between May 2003 and November 2005, but only once did more than 20 people attend.
Magherafelt held 17 public meetings to February this year with a highest attendance figure of nine. Four times not a single member of the public turned up.
In Ballymoney there were 15 public meetings. Three times no- one turned up and only once were there more than 10 people.
However, the cost of DPPs, which are funded by the Policing Board and local councils, has now risen beyond £12m.
In the years 2002-2005 allowances and travel expenses for members cost £2,742,000, while salaries for DPP managers has cost another £1,509,000.
Over the three year period DPPs spent £224,000 on advertising and £89,000 on PR and publications.
Jim Rodgers, the first chairman of Belfast DPP, who is no longer on the partnership, said he believed they had become nothing more than a “talking shop”.
He added: “They are clearly not working.”
