04/08/2016 BBC Newsline

The Chief Constable says a report which criticised how the PSNI

protect vulnerable victims is "uncomfortable reading".

The report also says more needs to be done to tackle high levels

of sickness within the PSNI - it's double the rate of some

Our Home Affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney reports.

The PSNI dealt with 28,000 reports of domestic abuse a year.

It also received around 4,000 reports of missing children.

And helped monitor the welfare of around 40 children deemed to be

The PSNI says tackling domestic abuse and protecting vulnerable

But an independent inspection report says

We are dealing here with people who are the most vulnerable

These are women who are assaulted and sometimes murdered

These are children who are being exploited by evil people.

The police are one of the key agencies that can provide that.

The HMIC says more training is needed to improve

the way officers deal with vulnerable people.

Members of the Policing Board expressed concern

after being briefed about the report this morning.

The Chief Constable said he accepts the findings. Clip.

Some of that is frankly uncomfortable reading

but we do that as a platform for improvement and change.

And insisted that change is already under way.

Training has been delivered for over 350 front line constables

to help their understanding of domestic abuse and of

We have dedicated an additional 15 detectives to help

us tackle the problem of child sexual exploitation.

On a more positive note, the inspectors say the PSNI

uses its resources well to keep people safe and reduce crime.

However, they say it's too reliant on officers

And that sickness levels are too high - around double that of other

The PSNI says that's largely because it needs funding

This isn't the first time inspectors have criticised the police approach

to victims of domestic abuse or vulnerable people.

Each time there's been criticism, the police have promised to respond

The HMIC inspectors will come back next year to check on progress.

The police in Lurgan are carrying out what they've described

as a significant operation in relation to serious crime.

Officers have been searching land close to Saint Michael's church

A section of the railway line had been closed

because of the operation and has now re-opened.

Three men from Lithuania say they're moving house after their home

was attacked in Larne early this morning.

One of the residents says he saw a gang smashing his car

and the front window of the house in Herbert Avenue just after 1am.

The attackers also painted graffiti on the walls.

Police are treating it as a hate crime.

Sectarian graffiti has been painted on an Orange Hall in Lisburn.

It's believed the graffiti was sprayed on the hall

The Police have appealed for information and are treating

A boxer in the Team Ireland squad has failed a drugs test on the eve

The Irish Athletic Boxing Association confirmed that a fighter

has been provisionally suspended from competing.

Stephen Watson is in Brazil and has more.

A man in his forties has been arrested in connection

with the murder of former Sinn Fein official Denis Donaldson.

Mr Donaldson was shot dead in April 2006 at a remote cottage in Donegal.

The shooting came shortly after it was revealed he had been

Last week a 74-year-old man appeared in court in Dublin charged

with withholding information about the murder.

Today's cut in interest rates by the Bank of England is designed

to boost the economy which has weakened markedly since

With the rate at its lowest ever level at just a quarter of one

per cent, it should mean lower mortgage payments for homeowners

but for savers it's not such a bright outlook.

Here's our Economics and Business Editor, John Campbell.

If you've bought your house with a tracker mortgage,

today's move means an immediate cut in your monthly repayment.

Let's say you owe ?100,000 over 15 years and your interest rate

tracks 2% above the Bank of England's base rate.

Your monthly payment will automatically fall

The top man at the Bank says you should

The banks have no excuse, with the announcement today not

They have to make that point to their customers.

Good news for borrowers but more pain for savers.

For many older people, like this group of Scrabble players

in South Belfast, interest payments were supposed to form

But in recent years the returns have

Up until about four years ago or five years ago,

I had some money in my ISA and I was getting about 3% on that.

When you went in at the end of the year, you thought

there was an extra 100 that you could get.

Now there is no point in having it in an ISA.

With inflation now forecast to rise that makes

As a company we expect to see inflation rise probably

even above the 2% target of the Bank of England.

That is not an issue as long as savers are getting

If savings rates are less than 1% and will probably drop further,

inflation may go to two and a half percent in 2017,

that means the value of the savers' money is decreasing

The Bank of England has indicated it could cut rates to just 0.1%

Libraries here are being given extra money to prevent a cut

In May after a reduction to its budget, Libraries NI said

14 libraries would have to open fewer hours.

It would have worked out at an equivalent

was made at Lisburn Library by the Communities Minister.

It was an exercise carried out across all the areas this money to

ensure these facilities remain open. Because the public wants this. When

you carry out a consultation and over a thousand people respond and

clearly the message was they wanted libraries to be retained and the

opening hours they have, it is incumbent on a minister to

prioritise and look at where the resources are within my department

and I have been able to do that and we shall have libraries continuing

to stay open. But while it's good news

for libraries, cash shortfalls for projects supporting vulnerable

adults are putting services under strain, according to the Federation

of Housing Associations. The Federation says it

hasn't seen an increase The Department for Communities says

it's aware of the pressures and is working to identify

additional monies. Our Health Correspondent

Marie-Louise Connolly has more. Despite suffering pneumonia

with around the clock help at hand, Sandra Campbell has been able

to leave hospital and move back into her supported

living accommodation. Sandra moved in almost four

years ago when living I have tried to commit

suicide five times. Staff like Yvonne, who are able

to support people like Sandra, to live independently

in the community make As the scheme coordinator

she is the go-to person but with the cuts in place,

her job is under threat. Things like social inclusion,

the activities and support that we give them on a dairy

basis, that would all go. Many men and women across

Northern Ireland live independently in housing schemes like

this one in Ballymena. While they have their own apartment

they can still cook and shop for themselves with professional

help available 24 hours each day. It is the Department for Communities

that pays the wages of Yvonne. That funding has been frozen

for nine years. That means that things are getting

to a critical point now where the quality and viability

of these schemes are threatened. Staff costs are increasing

significantly with the living wage. In order to sustain high-quality

services to vulnerable groups and older people we need

an immediate 10% increase It is estimated that the programme

saves the public purse around Now for a look at the weather

forecast and here's Angie We have some rain in the forecast

over the next few days but still a fair amount of dry weather. And a

lot of dry weather tonight. Clear spells, broken cloud, feeling

fresher with temperatures holding into double figures and times but in

rural areas it is likely to be lower, maybe 7 degrees. Tomorrow,

not a bad day coming up, lots of dry weather round with a few showers but

for much of the morning we will have a lot of dry weather and some

sunshine. As we head towards the afternoon we start to see those

showers creeping in. Into the Republic, Northern Ireland and

western Scotland, may be here more so than later in the afternoon. Some

trickling through the central lowlands, maybe the Pennines, but

generally speaking elsewhere, we are looking at a lot of fine weather,

decent sunshine and warmth in the side. Into the mid-20s and

elsewhere, the high teens. Fresher towards the far north. For Northern

Ireland in the afterno on, many places avoiding the showers as they

move through, still a lot of dry weather to come and they will tend

to move always a feeling very pleasant, particularly in eastern

areas with lots of shelter, 18 or towards a weekend were keeping an

eye on low pressure coming in from we can see we're talking about

strong quite tightly packed, we're talking about Northern Ireland,

perhaps on Saturday, a fair amount of cloud, rain on Saturday but still

a lot of dry weather,