PSNI face challenge as figures show drop in Catholic staff in last 10 years

THE number of PSNI staff from a Catholic background has dropped over the past 10 years, with the figures described by one policing body as a “challenge” to those leading the service.

In 2014 there were 479 (19.38%) members of staff from a Catholic background.

Fast-forward to 2024 and according to a Freedom of Information response obtained by this newspaper, there are now 469 members of staff from a Catholic background (18.96%).

In terms of senior staff from a Catholic background, that has dropped from 20 (24.10%) in 2014 to 15 (17.86) this year.

When the Patten Report on policing reform was published in 1999 following the Good Friday Agreement, the proportion of Catholic civilian staff was 12%.

The report titled ‘A New Beginning for Policing in Northern Ireland’ said it was “important” that the same principle of a “balanced and representative workforce” should apply to the civilian staff.

“It would be illogical to argue for diversity in the officer ranks while leaving the civilian staff unchanged,” it added.

The number of PSNI officers from a Catholic background has grown since 1999, largely down to 50:50 recruitment to address the religious imbalance which ended in 2011.

However, officer numbers have stagnated around 31-32% for the past 10 years or more.

In 2016 there were 2,127 (31.16%) Catholic officers and as of January this year 2,124 (32.70%) officers.

At the most senior level, Catholic representation drops dramatically to 20.78% or 16 Senior Officers.

Belfast City and Antrim & Newtownabbey districts have the lowest proportion of serving Catholic officers, at under 24%.

The Patten Report on policing reform noted that community policing is impossible if the composition of the police service bears little relationship to the composition of the community as a whole.

“The police service in Northern Ireland needs to include appropriately large numbers of nationalists, including republicans, if it is to be fully effective,” it added.

The Catholic Police Guild of the PSNI said: “Given the well-known financial and societal challenges faced by Policing within Northern Ireland, it comes as no surprise that the actual numbers of those from a CNR background has dropped.

“Any percentage drop would pose a challenge to the leadership of the PSNI which must be addressed. If serving officers from a CNR background are leaving the police in greater numbers than other sections of our community that is an issue which undermines the creation of a fully reflective police service.”

Assistant Chief Officer for People and Organisational Development within the PSNI, Clare Duffield, said it is committed to being “representative of the community we serve”.

“There are almost four times the number of Catholic police officers working today than prior to the formation of the Service in 2001. As these Catholic police officers progress through their career in the Police Service we fully expect this to be reflected within the senior leadership of the organisation.

“We acknowledge that the number of Catholic police staff has remained more static. This can be attributed to the fact that a number of the mechanisms introduced via the Patten Report did not extend to police staff. The lower level of attrition and specialist nature of a number of our roles also limits our opportunity to recruit larger volumes of police staff.

ACO Duffield continued: “The Chief Constable has made it clear how gravely concerned he is about the stark budget received by the PSNI and the drastic impact the funding deficit, if it remains, will have upon our resourcing levels.

“We have had to take steps in an attempt to address this with a series of decisions on cost reductions, which unfortunately includes slowing the recruitment of police officers and police staff. This inevitably will have an impact on our ability to change the representation of the organisation.”