I am not asking about equality groups and don’t want to confuse this with that breakdown. We all believe a policing service should be representative of the people it is policing and that includes by geography.
Can the Chief Constable give a broad indication of numbers of existing police officers by which Council areas (or another geographic metric) they are from?
Can the Chief Constable provide a breakdown by Council area of applications for recruitment; and it would be helpful if that included by proportion of people of working/target age in the area?
Police Response
| Local Councils | Percentage Population Aged 18 to 64 | Percentage Officers Current Residence | Officer residence compared to population | Campaign 2025 Applicants | Applicant residence compared to officer residence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ards and North Down | 8% | 21% | ↑ | 16% | ↓ |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 8% | 14% | ↑ | 10% | ↓ |
| Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon | 11% | 12% | = | 12% | = |
| Mid and East Antrim | 7% | 11% | ↑ | 10% | = |
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 8% | 11% | ↑ | 12% | = |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 7% | 10% | ↑ | 9% | = |
| Belfast | 19% | 8% | ↓ | 13% | ↑ |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 6% | 5% | = | 5% | = |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 9% | 4% | ↓ | 6% | ↑ |
| Derry City and Strabane | 8% | 2% | ↓ | 4% | ↑ |
| Mid Ulster | 8% | 2% | ↓ | 4% | ↑ |
1. Officer and applicant residence data is mapped against valid recorded Northern Ireland postcodes.
2. Population data is based on those residing in each council area aged 18 – 64 (not specifically those economically active). Source data: 2023 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland and Estimates of the Population Aged 85 and Over for Northern Ireland, 2023 (and 2001 to 2022 revised) | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
This data analysis shows a correlation between the council areas where there are higher or lower number of officers residing and the application levels from those areas. It should be noted that the data is based on the current residence of our officers and applicants and does not reflect the council area where they may have originated from or other council areas where they may have resided throughout their career/lifetime. Whilst we recognise that there is a continuous need to engage with communities and encourage applications from under-represented areas such as Mid Ulster, Derry City & Strabane and Newry & Mourne, it is pleasing to note that we have reduced the gap in these areas when comparing to the numbers that would be statistically expected and where our officers currently reside.
Your suggestion of ‘PCSPs and others being tasked with a special request during the next recruitment drive with activities to encourage recruits in their areas (where numbers are low)’ is very much welcomed. As part of our outreach activity for the 2025 Student Officer recruitment campaign, our Head of Recruitment, supported by colleagues from Local Policing, delivered a recruitment workshop with PCSP Managers on 22nd November 2024 to provide an overview of the recruitment process and to seek their support in advocating for a career in policing within their respective areas. District Commanders were also tasked to promote the recruitment campaign at PCSP meetings during the warm-up and live phases of the recruitment campaign.
We would be keen to explore with Board Members any opportunities to further extend this PCSP outreach activity as part of the planning for our next recruitment campaign.
Peter Osborne