DOZENS of police officers who did not report for duty in Derry and Strabane at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic have been cleared of misconduct.
It follows an internal PSNI review into working practices in the Derry City and Strabane district during April 2020.
At that time officers were told they could be on stand-by from home.
The internal inquiry has determined the practice “was not misconduct”.
The PSNI said that no action would be taken on “this particular issue of the shift-working arrangements” under its conduct rules.
It said its professional standards department would “keep the situation under continual review”.
It is understood that on one shift in April last year as many as 28 officers did not show up having been told by inspectors they could be at home, without the knowledge of more senior commanders.
The stay-at-home working practice is thought to have involved many others between 13 April and 28 April.
At the time the police acknowledged the situation would have reduced the enforcement of lockdown regulations.
Speaking in April last year the area’s district commander Ch Supt Emma Bond said the practice meant “an enhanced level of policing was not achieved”.
About 200 officers in total are attached to the Derry City and Strabane District Command Unit.
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