PSNI Recruitment Surges Ahead

There are a record number of applicants for the police service.

Despite the violent death of the first ever member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to be murdered, in March this year, the force has now had the biggest response to any such police recruitment campaign to date.

Members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board's Human Resources Committee were today briefed on the application rates in the latest recruitment campaign.

Speaking about the figures presented, Committee Chairman Jimmy Spratt said: "Board members were very encouraged by the high number of applicants in this latest recruitment round which show that policing remains an attractive career choice right across the community."

The Board noted that there was just under 10,000 applicants for the 440 posts available.

"This level of interest shows that those who would wish to threaten and intimidate potential recruits to a career in policing have failed," the Board and MLA member said.

Applications are wide-ranging too, with statistics showing that, of the 9,825 applications received, 38%, (3,734) were from Catholic applicants and 30.4% (2,987) were from women.

(BMcC)