Cuts to the PSNI will make it "no longer possible to deliver the same level or quantity of policing service," according to Chief Constable George Hamilton.

"These financial pressures will require me to prioritise service delivery to an extent never experienced before in Northern Ireland," he said.

The Chief Constable made the remarks in his report to the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

The PSNI is facing a £51.4 m reduction as a result of a 7% in year cut. This follows a removal from the budget already of £47m this year.

£50m equates to over 900 police officers, according to the PSNI, while the total annual budget for E District, which covers Craigavon, Armagh, Banbridge and Newry and Mourne, is £45m.

Mr Hamilton said that new cuts to the PSNI will "necessitate radical changes to how we deliver policing.

"Fulfilling these duties on behalf of the community means dismantling the international criminal gangs trafficking human beings within our community; protecting the vulnerable behind closed doors from crimes such as domestic violence or child abuse; responding to the economic threat posed by cyber and financial crime; and providing visible neighbourhood policing in our community.

"These are the duties expected of any Police Service across these islands. But policing Northern Ireland’s post conflict society goes wider than that."

He said Northern Ireland's position as a "post-conflict society" placed further pressures on PSNI officer.

"These include the demands for dealing with the past; the daily requirements of responding to interface tensions; and the significant costs of preventing and responding to serious public order resulting from increased community tensions," he said.

"As we move to make the additional in year cuts, there will be an immediate and direct impact on the capacity and capability of the organisation, some of which is outlined in the Human Resources Update below. The reality is that in the coming months there will be less visible frontline policing."

(IT/CD)