50-50 Recruitment Policy in the PSNI

I am pleased to speak in the debate, and I declare an interest as a member of the Policing Board and as Chairperson of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee. I support the motion.

It must be said that since 2001, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has undergone unprecedented change, as has the entire British police service. Indeed, that change continues. The PSNI is now one of the most accountable police services in Europe, and, possibly, in the world.

Some figures have been cited, one of which was that 27% of the PSNI’s membership is now Catholic. It has also been said that the 50:50 policy has been extended for another year to allow that proportion to hit the 30% target.

The Patten report has been quoted many times today, but here is a new quote:

“The percentage of Catholic applicants rose from 12 to 21 after the IRA ceasefire in 1994, and fell back when the ceasefire ended. It rose again in 1998 to 20.”

That is why, over the years, there has been an imbalance. Even Patten accepted that fact, and nobody can rubbish it.

I spent 30 years in the Police Service. I see some SDLP Members smiling, but I challenge any Member, or anybody outside the House, to say that, throughout my service, I did not serve the whole community impartially.

On many occasions over many years, it was RUC officers investigating themselves who brought to justice members who had done wrong. I could quote many instances in which that was the case, so do not give me any lectures.

My son, who is now a police officer in another part of the United Kingdom, has first-hand experience of 50:50 recruitment. On two occasions, I saw the devastation on that young man’s face. He twice passed the first part of the PSNI’s recruitment process, which is much more robust than other police recruitment processes in the United Kingdom, and on both occasions, he was elated to receive a letter to say that he had passed. Within a week to 10 days, there was absolute devastation when the “sorry you’re a Prod” letter arrived on the doorstep. That scenario was repeated in many homes. Whether people like that or not, it is wrong.

There has been much talk about police services in the rest of the United Kingdom, and Alex Maskey spoke about community policing. Throughout the United Kingdom, many cities are as divided as Northern Ireland, and people from ethnic backgrounds do not apply to join those police services. All parts of the Catholic community must encourage Catholics to join the police. Everyone should have equal opportunities and be recruited on merit, and the best people for the job must apply.

Basil McCrea referred to the future, and he mentioned a figure of 100 recruits in the nine to 10 years after 2011. As the chair of the Policing Board’s human resources committee, I know from Police Service figures that only 40 or 50 new recruits will be required to replace those who will leave the Police Service because they are at pension age, resigning or being dismissed. The recruitment process should be based on merit, and the best person should get the job, irrespective of religion.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is no different from any other British police service or, if people want to talk about them, from the guards. Policing and community policing is about providing a service to the community, irrespective of a person’s religion, ethnic background or anything else. That is what the public deserve and should have, so let us get away from tarnishing the police as a Protestant police force for a Protestant people, an expression that Alasdair McDonnell used only last week when, in an open forum at Wellington College, he deliberately misinterpreted figures.

That was wrong, and it needs to stop.