Policing Board condemns "negative and racist” comments over PSNI recruitment drive

One of the PSNI recruitment posters
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


The Policing Board has condemned “negative and racist” online commentary following the launch of a new PSNI recruitment drive.

The police service launched its first student officer recruitment programme since 2021 earlier this week, aiming to lift officer numbers from an all-time low of 6,300.

One of the recruitment advertisements features an image of a female officer from an ethnic minority background. Posts which appeared on social media about the ad were condemned at a meeting of the board’s Resources Committee on Thursday.

Read more: PSNI chief warns of "unimaginable" officer numbers as he starts recruitment push

Committee chairman Trevor Clarke MLA said: “Policing must be reflective and representative of the community it serves, and the board fully supports the PSNI campaign and outreach work being undertaken to encourage applications so that the service is fully representative of the diversity of our community.

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“A strong message must be sent that racism in any form is not acceptable and must be called out.”

The PSNI’s chief operating officer, Pamela McCreedy, said they will continue to reach out to encourage people from all communities to apply for a career in policing.

“The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to being representative of the communities we serve,” she said.

“With respect to our Student Officer recruitment campaign, we are aware of a number of inappropriate and unacceptable posts circulating on social media.

“We will continue to use our advertising and outreach activities to encourage people from all communities, particularly those currently under-represented within the service, to apply for a career in policing.”