What are the PSNI doing to address concerning findings from the PSNI Inclusion Survey?

Question

The PSNI Inclusion Survey reported that 1 in 5 people experienced inappropriate behaviour in the last 12 months and 1 in 10 experienced discrimination – what are the PSNI doing to address these concerning findings, based on the behaviour experienced and discrimination faced? Bespoke harm needs bespoke interventions so mere training is not sufficient. 25 of the 43 officers currently suspended and 26 of the 63 officers currently repositioned are because of allegations of domestic or sexual misconduct. How long have these officers been suspended, and at what cost? Do we have an expected deadline for when these suspensions will end? 

Answer

• PSNI surveyed the workforce for 3 weeks from 15 September to 6 October 2025. 
• 4,387 or 50.3% of the workforce participated in the survey. 
• The Service has committed to being fully transparent with the workforce and has shared the findings openly. 
• In addition to sharing the findings at a Service wide level through presentations and videos, 27 targeted presentations have been created and delivered to senior and middle manager across all Departments, Staff Associations and Minority/Diversity Support Associations. These presentations have included service wide results and results for that Department or Branch. 
• Having shared the data widely, workshops with representative groups are ongoing to understand the story behind the numbers and to seek the views of the workforce on the most appropriate actions to take. 
• 22 workshops are underway. Those completed include a workshop at International Women’s Day where over 100 of our female colleagues shared their insights and suggestions for improvement. 
• The results from the workshops will be layered onto the quantitative data. 
• Business planning meetings are scheduled with Heads of Branch/Department and their senior teams. Each Branch/Department will commit to three actions which they will report on via the Culture Development Implementation Group (Chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable and ACO People and Development). 
• Key questions from the survey will be included in future workforce surveys to assess the impact of the actions and the workforce experience. 

Regarding the specific matter of discrimination and inappropriate behaviour, a range of measures have been identified:

• The inclusion survey findings will be embedded into first line manager training and all appropriate leadership training moving forward. 
• 16 members of PSNI are now trained mediators. In parallel a review of the Workforce Dispute Resolution/Grievance/Bullying and Harassment procedures is nearing completion. This will provide much greater detail to both grievants and line managers in triaging and supporting the grievance process. 
• The Code of Ethics has been refreshed and will be rolled out with a clear focus on the behaviours required and expected of officers and staff while both on duty and off duty. 
• The recommendations from The Langdale Review have been accepted and will be adopted. 

Suspension and repositioning are considered a neutral (non-disciplinary) interim measures, applied case-by-case based on risk and operational necessity. They are used to safeguard the public, protect the integrity of investigations and proceedings, and maintain public confidence while matters are assessed and progressed. In is important to note that no misconduct has been proven when either a suspension or repositioning duty restriction is decided.

Repositioning is used where it is appropriate and proportionate for an officer to remain at work, but with controls to manage risk. Typical reasons why a repositioning will be put in place include:

• Protecting the public and confidence in policing while allegations are examined, for example where continued deployment in the officer’s usual role could undermine confidence. 
• Protecting the integrity of an investigation by limiting contact with particular people, locations or systems, or avoiding a role that could create evidential or reputational risk. 

Suspension is used where the risk cannot be adequately managed through restrictions or repositioning and it is necessary to:

• Protect the public and the service from the officer’s continued operational deployment.
• Maintain public confidence, particularly where alleged conduct is serious and could be regarded as fundamentally incompatible with the office of constable. 
• Protect the integrity of any criminal or misconduct processes, including where restrictions are insufficient to prevent interference, inappropriate contact or other investigative risk. 

Because the figures outlined in the question “25 of 43 suspended / 26 of 63 repositioned” figures were taken at a single point in time and the underlying snapshot cannot now be reconstructed, PSNI cannot reliably provide the individual lengths of time duty restriction applied for that specific cohort. 

However, for officers suspended for sexual misconduct or misconduct linked to a domestically motivated matter as of April 2026, PSNI can provide the following aggregated duration data:

Length of suspension (as of April 2026) 
0–12 months: 13 officers 
12–24 months: 5 officers 
24–36 months: 3 officers 
More than 36 months: 7 officers

The total costs associated with each these suspensions is difficult to provide in an accurate fashion due to the level of variation between officers pay scales, ranks, etc. However using a PSNI ready reckoner and utilising the only a total Constable salary at £89,470 (this includes ERNI and Pension) the salary costs for officers currently suspended for relevant allegations is in the region of £4.2m. 

For officers repositioned for sexual misconduct or misconduct linked to a domestically motivated matter, PSNI can provide the following aggregated duration data:

Length of repositioned (as of April 2026) 
0–12 months: 13 officers 
12–24 months: 7 officers 
24–36 months: 3 officers 
More than 36 months: 0 officers

In respect to expected timescale around when any duty restrictions will end, there is no single expected end date that can be applied across cases. Timescales are driven by case-specific factors, including: 

• Complexity of the investigation (evidential lines, digital enquiries, witness availability, safeguarding considerations). 
• Ongoing criminal proceedings and prosecution decisions, including time taken for charging advice and final decisions. 
• Police Ombudsman Northern Ireland processes, where matters are within remit and decisions and actions are dependent on those processes. 
• Wider resourcing pressures, which can affect the speed at which both criminal and misconduct matters progress. 

PSNI remains committed to progressing investigations and concluding misconduct matters as quickly as possible and within the regulatory framework, while ensuring decisions are lawful, proportionate, and fair, and that public protection and confidence remain central throughout.

For note, repositioning and suspension numbers fluctuate daily and are subject to a monthly review.

Dr Kate Laverty