Attending the public session of the Policing Board

One of the main ways you can find out more about the work of the Policing Board is to attend the meetings of the Policing Board held in public to hear the Chief Constable present his report and answer questions from Policing Board Members.

Questions to the Chief Constable may arise from the business of Policing Board Committees and from Policing Board Members.  The procedure for raising questions with the Chief Constable are set out in the  Policing Board’s Standing Orders (SO 9).

There is a requirement for questions to be submitted by Members to the Chief Executive of the Policing Board at least seven days in advance of the meeting. The Policing Board decides whether a question is to be put in the private session or at the Policing Board meeting in public, or whether a question will be dealt with by way of written answer.

The public session of the Policing Board's meeting is generally held at our Belfast Headquarters, Waterside Tower, in Clarendon Dock.  However, we do hold meetings outside of our HQ, for example, in 2005 meetings were held in Omagh and Londonderry, and in 2006, in Enniskillen and Newcastle.

Members also receive presentations regarding the different aspects to police work from police officers of all ranks. Presentations to date have included the work of the PSNI's Road Traffic Unit, the Organised Crime Taskforce and the Assets Recovery Agency in addition to presentations on crimes against the elderly and proposals for the new Police Training College.

All meetings of the Policing Board in public are advertised in advance of the meeting. We place public advertisements in at least the three daily Northern Ireland newspapers, including the North West editions.

At present we use:

Where appropriate, we will consider what other measures are necessary to make sure that relevant information reaches all members of the community, including young people and people with disabilities. This will include publication in targeted publications accessed by minority groups. Arrangements will be carried out in line with the principals set out in part six of the Policing Board’s Equality Scheme.

At each meeting in public an interpreter is provided to sign for any member of the public with hearing difficulties. The sound system is also compatible with hearing aids.

Car parking facilities in Clarendon Dock (click here for directions) are very limited, we will provide a space for anyone with a disability requiring assistance on request. Please call us on 028 9040 8500 if you need assistance.

We will provide (on request) information in Braille, in large print, or audiocassette, computer disc and in minority language formats.

Rights of admission to this meeting are reserved and you should bear in mind that the media, including television cameras, attend the meetings. Please remember that:

These rules apply to all persons in the public area.