A new assistant chief constable has been appointed due to the pressure of work involved in investigating hundreds of unsolved murders in Northern Ireland.
Alistair Finlay (44), from Strathclyde, will head the Historical Enquiries Team (HET), which is investigating murders going back 35 years.
Policing Board chairman Sir Des Rea confirmed: "We recognise and understand the complexities and resourcing pressures of this area of police business and do not want issues arising from past issues impacting on current day-to-day service delivery."
The HET was set up last year with a £30 million budget and a squad of detectives, some from Britain, and support staff using the latest forensic science and intelligence analysis technology.
Retired Metropolitan Police commander David Cox was appointed to take charge of the team re-examining 3,268 killings between 1969 and the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement.
Chief constable Sir Hugh Orde admitted pressure on resources forced the appointment.
"We are reviewing thousands of documents, many computer records spanning over 30 years, and we have got 20 people who have been working specifically on dealing with these particular requests."
Sir Hugh said he had pledged to support the public inquiries fully and to do that another senior officer was vital, though he remained in charge.