The Policing Board has today (25th June) announced the 72 independent members they have appointed to the new Policing and Community Partnerships (PCSPs).
From solicitors and students to youth and charity workers, the Members appointed to 8 of the 11 new PCSP areas come from a range of jobs and backgrounds.
Welcoming the new members onto the PCSPs, Policing Board Chair Anne Connolly said: “PCSPs continue to play an important role in local policing as they work with local communities and the PSNI to help make communities safer.
The new PCSP members bring a wide range of skills and experience to this important element of policing accountability. All those appointed have demonstrated the ability to engage effectively and have shown a commitment to ensuring that the voice of their community is heard.
The new look Councils and new structure for PCSPs will bring fresh challenges and opportunities for the partnerships. Members will work together with elected colleagues, the community and representatives of the statutory and voluntary sector to provide oversight of police locally. I look forward to working with all our new members to maintain public confidence in policing and deliver community safety.”
Mrs Connolly added: “Whilst appointments have been made in 8 of the 11 Council, work is ongoing to fill places in 3 areas – Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh and Antrim and Newtownabbey. This is due to be completed by the end of July.”
Speaking about the appointments, Justice Minister David Ford MLA said:
"The completion of the PCSPs reconstitution allows the continuation of a statutory framework aimed at delivering community safety. With a make-up of political, independent and designated membership, PCSPs are representative of the local areas they serve. The Northern Ireland Policing Board has worked to deliver an open and transparent process resulting in the appointment of people with various skills and experience, community background, gender and age.
Each PCSP will have its own challenges but with the roll out of community planning in co-ordinating and delivering local services we have an opportunity to enhance overall performance and ensure that PCSPs make a real difference to local policing and community safety issues.”
Ends
For further information, please contact the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Communications Office on 07801738795.
Notes to editors
Role and work of PCSPs:
PCSPs have a statutory duty to:
consult and engage with the local community on the issues of concern in relation to policing and community safety. The Policing Committee has a distinct responsibility to provide views to the relevant district commander and the Policing Board on policing matters;
identify and prioritise the particular issues of concern and prepare plans for how these can be tackled;
monitor - a Policing Committee comprising the political and independent members will monitor the performance of the police and work to gain the co-operation of the public with the police in preventing crime; and
deliver a reduction in crime and enhance community safety in their district, directly through their own interventions, through the work of their delivery groups or through support for the work of others; the Policing Committee will also engage with the public to obtain cooperation with the police in preventing crime and enhancing community safety.
More information on the role and work of PCSPs and how to contact them can be found at http://www.pcsps.org/
Summary of PCSP Independent Members Appointed
The Policing Board has appointed 72 Independent Members to fill positions on 8 PCSPs.
Community Background – 38 (53%) were made to candidates with a Catholic community background with 28 (39%) were made to candidates with a Protestant community background while 6 (8%) were made to candidates from other/no community background. In the 2011 Census 45% of the population came from a Catholic background, 48% came from a Protestant background and 7% came from other/no community background.
Gender – 24 (33%) were made to male candidates and 48 (67%) were made to female candidates. The 2011 Census indicated that 49% of the population were male and 51% female. No candidates identified as Transgender.
Age – 12 (17%) were made to candidates aged 18 to 25, 11 (15%) to candidates aged between 26 and 40, 34 (47%) to candidates aged between 41 and 60 and, 15 (21%) to candidates aged 61 and over. The 2011 Census indicated that of the population aged 18 and over, 15% were aged 18-25, 27% were aged 26 to 40, 34% were aged 41-60 and 25% were aged 61 and over.
Disability – 6 (8%) were made to candidates who stated that they had a disability.
Ethnicity – 3 (4%) were made to candidates from ethnic minorities. In the 2011 Census, 1.8% of the population came from an ethnic minority.
Sexual Orientation – 3 (4%) were made to candidates who describe themselves as Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual.
Political Activity – 32 (44%) were made to candidates who declared their participation in some form of political party activity on their application forms.
Make up
PCSPs comprise:
10 Political Members nominated by the district council;
9 Independent Members appointed by the Northern Ireland Policing Board;
at least 4 representatives of designated organisations which the PCSP will have selected because of the contribution they can make; and
Representatives from the following designated public bodies:
Police Service of Northern Ireland;
Northern Ireland Housing Executive;
Probation Board for Northern Ireland;
Youth Justice Agency of Northern Ireland;
Health and Social Care Trusts (excluding the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service);
the Education Authority; and
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service
List of members
A link to all members including the personal details provided to the Board including details on experience, political activity and other appointments held can be found on the PCSP website.
Code of Practice
For the Code of Practice for PCSP Members, click here.
Independent scrutiny
The process to appoint Members was conducted according to the Code of Practice issued by the Department of Justice in March 2015. Appointments made have been subject to independent scrutiny by an Impartial Assessor whose role involved assessing the process for openness, transparency, probity and effectiveness and ensuring compliance with the code. Independent panel members (IPM) taken from the Commissioner for Public Appointments (CPANI) list of approved Assessors were also involved at Council shortlisting/interview stage and Board appointments stage. An Independent Complaints Monitor (ICM) was also appointed to deal with complaints from any candidate who was unable to have his/her complaint resolved by the Council/Policing board. The Impartial Assessor’s report will be provided to the Policing Board on completion of the process and published in due course.
Board’s role
Independent members of both PCSPs and DPCSPs are appointed by the Policing Board, who have overall responsibility for the process, from nominations made by Council (paragraphs 4 and 5 of Schedule 1 to the Justice Act refer to independent appointments to PCSPs; paragraphs 4 and 5 of Schedule 2 to the Justice Act refer to independent members to the Belfast DPCSPs). In making the appointments, the Policing Board is required to secure, so far as practicable, that each PCSP as a whole is representative of the community in the Council area.
Length of appointment
Members are appointed for a 4 year period.
Expenses
A meeting expense payment of £60 per meeting is available to all Members of a PCSP. Members are able to claim travel expenses.
Budget
The budget available is £4.5m and is operated by the Policing Board.
Social media
Follow PCSPs on Facebook/pcsps and Twitter@pcsp_s
Captions for photos:
Pictured at the Policing Board’s PCSP induction are (l-r): Chief Constable George Hamilton, Board Chair Anne Connolly and Justice Minister David Ford MLA.
Pictured at the PCSP induction are (l-r): Policing Board Chair Anne Connolly and Chief Constable George Hamilton with new Members Anna Murray (Derry City and Strabane), Emma McIlveen (Mid and East Ulster), Roisin Brown (Causeway Coast and Glens) and Ashleigh Perry (Mid and East Ulster).
Notes to editors ends.