PSNI Chief Constable to give evidence to MPs on policing and security in Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee holds the final session of its inquiry into policing and security in NI, questioning PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck.
The session will focus on the key challenges explored throughout the inquiry, including the PSNI’s funding, workforce representation, and security threats.
In written evidence to the inquiry, the police service raised funding as the organisation’s “foremost challenge” with its budget falling by 20% between 2010 and 2020 in real-terms. MPs may also ask about the financial impact of legacy investigations and the cost of legacy civil cases against the PSNI.
Meeting details
There is likely to be discussion about the challenges with recruitment, and how the PSNI intends to increase applicants from underrepresented communities, such as those from Catholic and ethnic minority communities. Catholics currently account for 31.8% of all PSNI officers.
With the NI Executive’s Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime (EPPOC) finishing at the end of the next financial year, the Committee may also discuss the future of efforts to tackle paramilitarism.