Northern Ireland police in crisis, says new chief constable

The new head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland cast scathing judgment on its organisation and many of its activities yesterday on the eve of his first day in charge.

Hugh Orde moves from the Metropolitan Police to head a service which, he says, lacks a proper system for investigating murders. Its performance indicators are "in freefall" while its technology is in the "Dark Ages". The force is desperately short of detectives and has low morale. It has no police college, no real central command room and a low clear-up rate, he says. Furthermore, a report ­ which he helped draw up ­ into the killing of the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane 13 years ago will be "historic" in its impact when it is delivered later this year, he predicts.

These and other critical comments, made in an interview with The Independent, will disillusion any who hoped that the transition of the Royal Ulster Constabulary to the PSNI might be reasonably smooth.

Instead, the former deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police paints a picture of a force close to crisis. His plain-speaking debut makes it clear that he intends to be a new broom, making widespread changes to policing in Belfast.

Mr Orde takes over the post from Sir Ronnie Flanagan, having been chosen over two local candidates. In a sharp reversal of Sir Ronnie's stance, he accepts the findings of a critical report on the force's investigation of the Omagh bombing.

Nuala O'Loan, the police ombudsman, particularly criticised the Special Branch, saying the people of Omagh had been "let down by defective leadership, poor judgment and a lack of urgency".

Sir Ronnie strongly counter-attacked, dismissing the report as simplistic in the extreme. But Mr Orde said: "The core findings on Omagh were basically right."

He intends major changes in Special Branch, which in both the Omagh and Finucane cases was condemned for keeping material secret from officers investigating the murders.

Asked whether the IRA was behind the break-in at Belfast Special Branch offices earlier this year, Mr Orde said: "My money's on it."