PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher says he will be 'tough, uncompromising, values-driven leader

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher says he will be 'tough, uncompromising, values-driven leader.

Mr Boutcher was announced as the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s sixth chief on Tuesday night. He had been leading the organisation in an interim basis for the past month following the resignation of Simon Byrne following a string of controversaries. He is faced with a mammoth task of restoring confidence in the organisation from both inside and out - as well as facing a huge funding gap.

In his first press conference he also outlined how if sickness among staff was resolved it would be like a recruitment campaign getting those officers back on duty.

In a sit-down interview with UTV, Mr Boutcher said it was a "privilege" to lead the organisation and he had been inspired by what he had seen in his past few weeks as interim chief constable.

"We need to celebrate what is being done by the rank and file officers and staff every day to make sure the people of Northern Ireland are safe. We really have got an exceptional police organisation," he said.

Top of his to-do list was to ensure the staff and the support they needed to do the job.

"Recent events have shown there is a fear driven element of policing at the moment. People are too scared to make a mistake.. we all make honest mistakes."

He said staff issues were "all fixable" and his focus was on ensuring they had the support needed to do the job.

He said he knew of morale issues and the work to do on that but also that people's passion for the PSNI "jumped off the page".

In terms of resources and funding, he said he would be lobbying everyone for the funding needed.

"We can't afford not to fund our police.

And if that funding did not come, he said he needed a plan B. He said he would not be "salami slicing" but rather taking a "whole-systems" approach, something which he had seen success at in other police forces.

He said he had a reputation for being tough, uncompromising and standards driven.

"I have a reputation for being pretty tough guy, uncompromising, very values and standards driven.

"We all learn every day we evolve every day. I like to think I learned something [from working in Northern Ireland]."

Mr Boutcher previously applied to become PSNI chief constable in 2019, but lost out to Mr Byrne. He was until recently leading Operation Kenova, which has been investigating the activities of “Stakeknife”, the Army’s top agent in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He said he had learned a lot from that experience and how important legacy was in Northern Ireland.

"I've learned a lot about what's happened in the past and how legacy still is really important to so many people.

"Respect what people are doing. So I'm probably somebody who was a pretty back-to-basics cop.

"But I will say this about the police here we are independent. If policing isn't independent then that is a rocky road."

Mr Boutcher is contracted until November 2028. He said if he left and those in the organisation felt confident and empowered and communities had confidence in policing, "then if there's that sort of positivity and if we have a model to provide a policing service that we need to have a sustainable leadership team that is fit for purpose for the future. Then I'll be a very happy customer."

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