§ 30. Mr. SavidgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in developing a new approach to policing in Northern Ireland. [65829]
§ Jane KennedyTogether with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Policing Board, we are laying the foundations of a new beginning to policing. There have been significant structural changes: we have a Policing Board with nationalist participation and broad powers to hold police to account. And there has been an excellent cross-comunity response to recruitment under new 50:50 provisions with 35 per cent. of applications coming from Catholics and around 350 new recruits now in training. There have also been other major changes: policing with the community is now the statutory core function of the Police Service; a major programme of action is under way to focus policing in Northern Ireland on a human rights based approach.
Looking ahead, the process of establishing District Policing Partnerships has been launched, which will increase accountability at the local level and bring the police still closer to the community they serve.