PSNI to review plans to award medal to staff with over three years' service

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The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said it is reviewing plans to award service medals to staff.

It had originally intended to present the medal to all officers and support staff who had served more than three years.

The medals were to be issued to commemorate the first 10 years of the formation of the force.

The cost of going ahead with presenting the medal would have been more than £300,000.

Last year, the PSNI confirmed that plans for the medal had been submitted to the Department of Justice for consideration.

But when the anticipated cost of £320,000 emerged, the cost of the plan to award the medal became controversial.

Now, in the context of large scale cuts to the policing budget, there has been a rethink.

The PSNI has said it is now reviewing its proposal to award the service medal to police personnel and staff.

A spokesperson for the department of justice said: "The department is aware that PSNI are reviewing the proposal for a medal."