Chief Constable calls for hundreds more officers for border post-Brexit

George Hamilton said the police service is already working on a business case to put forward for what will be required to deal with the crossing into the Republic of Ireland.

Previously, Mr Hamilton has admitted any infrastructure that might be built on the border could become a target for terrorists.

"We need to be in a place to fulfill our responsibilities post-Brexit and that will probably require an increase in police numbers," he said.

"That will be to support partner agencies like NCA, HMRC and others who will have additional responsibilities post-Brexit in this jurisdiction."

So far, the UK government has not outlined what the exact final border arrangement will be, but the Chief Constable told Downtown/Cool FM he had been assured there would be no 'hard border.'

However, he did admit planning for the future included the threat posed by violent dissident republicans.

"We're already operating under a severe threat, where an attack from violent dissident republicans is highly likely," he said.

"I don't see that changing with Brexit and some of these dissidents will use that as an excuse to redouble their efforts and falsely legitmise their actions.

"We're alive to that fact but we're pretty good at combating it and protecting ourselves as we go."

The Police Federation backed Mr Hamilton's proposals at its annual conference on Thursday and asked the UK government to grant the request.

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• george hamilton