There has been condemnation of online racist comments following the launch of a PSNI recruitment drive encouraging applications from Northern Ireland’s ethnic community.
The drive to recruit 700 new officers into the PSNI was launched on Wednesday.
Platformed across social media the campaign features numerous pictures with images of people from a range of backgrounds.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher posted a picture of the advert on X to promote the drive — prompting dozens of comments, some highly racist in nature.
One said: “Just for black women or can anyone apply?”, another posted “Where are the Irish?! Have you replaced them?! So sad”.
According to figures released in December of last year 0.69% of the currently serving 6,300 police officers in NI are from an ethnic background. Of the 2,380 civilian staff, just 0.71% are from an ethnic minority background.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said he wants the PSNI to be seen as an “employer of choice” and be “representative of the community we serve”.
“You will have the opportunity to attain and access qualifications, and you will be supported every step of the way.
“There is no other job like it and we want people from all walks of life, from all communities, to join us.”
The vacancies have been hailed as “fantastic opportunities” for anyone interested in joining the police.
“We’ll be undertaking a range of outreach and engagement activities in the coming weeks to encourage people from all communities, particularly those currently under-represented within the service, to apply for a career in policing,” Mr Boutcher said.
“We must be reflective of the communities we serve if we want our communities to have confidence in us as a police service.”
At a meeting yesterday, the Policing Board’s Resources Committee members condemned the “negative and racist online commentary” surrounding the launch.
DUP committee chair 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.
“A strong message must be sent that racism in any form is not acceptable and must be called out.”
The PSNI currently has 6,300 officers — the lowest number in its history.
The £200m required to take that number to 7,000 is still awaiting Northern Ireland Executive approval.
It is the first significant drive to recruit trainees since 2021.
Successful candidates will be offered a starting salary of £34,000, which includes a £4,000 allowance commonly referred to as “danger money”.
Recruitment has slowed dramatically in recent years and has not kept pace with departures of around 300 a year.
The PSNI is also seeking to recruit 400 more civilian staff.
UUP Justice Committee member Doug Beattie also condemned the racist comments. “Some of the comments under this post are a pure disgrace. Let’s support the PSNI,” he said.