PSNI plans to increase Catholic representation without return to 50/50 recruitment

The PSNI has ruled out the reintroduction of the controversial practice of 50/50 recruitment in its efforts to attract new Catholic officers.

Just 31% of applicants to the most recent recruiment drive have been from a Catholic background - despite advertising campaigns targeted specifically at the nationalist/republican communities - while 19% made it through.

A new action plan has now been created to try and improve the statistic.

Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris said recruitment could reach 50% within five years if political and civic society worked with the PSNI.

"We need strong visible and verbal support for policing which is demonstrated by a wide spectrum of society, be it politicians and other civic leaders," he said.

"We don't have that at the moment."

Mr Harris ruled out the return of 50/50 recruitment, which had operated from 2001 to 2011 in Northern Ireland.

It helped to increase the number of Catholic officers from 8% to 31%.

Instead, the PSNI intends to make a number of changes to the recruitment process, reducing the timescale from initial selection test to appointment from 12 months to six months.

Consideration is also being given to alternative entry routes into the PSNI, such as police constable apprenticeship schemes, Mr Harris revealed.

An action plan was drawn up by senior police after consulting firm Deloitte carried out research on behalf of the PSNI into the reasons behind the reluctance of Catholics to sign up.

The report by Deloitte - Understanding Barriers Affecting Police Officer Recruitment - found that the opinion of family and friends was a barrier to members of the Catholic community.

It added that "perception the service is not inclusive and legacy perceptions are very strong for individuals from a Catholic community background."

The report also found that many Catholic applicants dropped out of the recruitment process ahead of the initial selection test as many were keeping their application secret and did not want to attend an exam centre with other people in an unfamiliar setting.

In response to the findings, the recruitment process, which includes an initial selection test, assessment centre, and physical fitness exam, will now be reduced from 12 months to six months, said Mr Harris.

The initial selection test will also be carried out online, so that candidates do not have to physically attend.

Mr Harris warned that by not getting a representative pool of candidates at the start of a recruitment process "we are missing out on really good people".

He added: "We have to be out there promoting our work place as somewhere that is good to work, has advancement, good remuneration and good career prospects."

The PSNI is also considering the benefits of introducing an apprenticeship scheme as an alternative entry to the rank of constable.

Mr Harris said this would not only help address Catholic under-representation, but would also attract more young people and women to apply.