SDLP Policing Board member Mark H Durkan MLA has said renewed efforts are needed to build a police service that is representative of everyone in Northern Ireland.
It comes after Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said applications from Catholic officers to the latest PSNI recruitment drive were lower than hoped.
Said the Foyle MLA: “The Good Friday Agreement and the Patten Report said the police service should be ‘representative of the society it serves’.
“Good results were achieved in the pursuit of this objective in the past and can be again.
“The figures on police recruitment are not unexpected and cause for concern.
“The SDLP has been warning for some time about the need to make efforts to recruit more officers from nationalist and minority communities, alongside female officers and it’s no surprise we find ourselves in this position.
“It is very likely that the chilling effect of the 2023 data leak has had an impact on both general recruitment, and recruitment from the nationalist community, but there are deeper reasons for this situation and it is time to acknowledge them and deal with them.
“Jon Boucher as Chief Constable has led with purpose, but when it comes to the perception of the police service the harm had been done and confidence reduced.
“The reasons for this go further and deeper, particularly when it comes to legacy issues which have been deeply damaging.
“The failure to address our past damages confidence in the rule of law and makes people think twice about applying for the PSNI.
“The new beginning to policing can be renewed.
“Recruitment of people in all our diversity, in representative numbers and from across each of the counties and townlands of Northern Ireland can be achieved.
“So too can the rule of law be renewed, but it needs strong actions and realism about where we are,” added Mr Durkan.
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