49-661: The Historical Enquiries Team was a unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland set up in September 2005 to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles , specifically between 1968 and 1998. It was wound up in September 2014, when the PSNI restructured following budget cuts. The team had three objectives: Working with families was at the heart of the HET objectives, with
98-613: A mass shooting perpetrated by the UDA , who opened fire on the bookmakers ' shop on Ormeau Road in 1992. The HET report confirmed one of the guns used by the UDA gang had previously been returned to them by RUC officers. A 2013 report into the HET by the UK's Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary found that the HET was not reviewing all of the historical cases within its remit in a consistent manner, and that some cases involving deaths caused by members of
147-404: A "misconduct panel" will consider more serious misconduct issues. Outcomes from misconduct hearings include dismissal, a requirement to resign, reduction in rank, monetary fines and cautions. The PSNI was initially legally obliged to operate an affirmative action policy of recruiting 50% of its trainee officers from a Catholic background and 50% from a non-Catholic background, as recommended by
196-551: A family liaison process in place, and the HET undertaking to provide each affected family with a copy of the relevant report. It was headed by Commander David Cox, formerly of the London Metropolitan Police , and consisted of a team of 100 investigators and supporting staff, and a budget of £30 million. HET was split into two distinct teams: Review and Investigation. The Review team was staffed by police officers employed and seconded from outside Northern Ireland, while
245-474: A green wicking material t-shirt. This new style shirt is embroidered with the PSNI crest on the left breast and the word Police on the left collar and both sleeves. The new shirt also facilitates the wearing of epaulettes to display rank and numerals. This modern workwear is similar to that of Police Scotland aside from colour and to uniforms of some police services in England and Wales. Officer headwear has remained
294-677: A key role in policing the violent conflict known as the Troubles . Initially, Sinn Féin , which represented about a quarter of Northern Ireland voters at the time, refused to endorse the PSNI until the Patten Commission's recommendations were implemented in full. However, as part of the St Andrews Agreement , Sinn Féin announced its full acceptance of the PSNI in January 2007. All major political parties in Northern Ireland now support
343-400: A minibus, confirmed Mid-Ulster UVF leader Robin "Jackal" Jackson 's involvement and identified him as an RUC Special Branch agent. The HET said the killings raised "disturbing questions about collusive and corrupt behaviour" between loyalist paramilitaries and British state forces. The HET report on the 1976 Kingsmill massacre , an ambush on civilians travelling in a minibus, stated that
392-520: Is Jon Boutcher , who was appointed on an interim basis after the resignation of Simon Bryne in September 2023 and successful in being officially confirmed as chief constable on 7 November 2023. The police area is divided into eight districts, each headed by a chief superintendent. Districts are divided into areas, commanded by a chief inspector; these in turn are divided into sectors, commanded by inspectors. In recent years, under new structural reforms, some chief inspectors command more than one area as
441-629: Is approximately half the size of Garda Síochána in terms of officer numbers. As part of the Good Friday Agreement , there was an agreement to introduce a new police service initially based on the body of constables of the RUC. As part of the reform, an Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland (the Patten Commission) was set up, and the RUC was replaced by the PSNI on 4 November 2001. The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 named
490-755: Is carried by every operational officer on the ground. The Glock 17 began superseding the Ruger Speed-Six revolvers from 2002 onwards, with only fifteen revolvers remaining in service by 2012. The primary long-arm used in the service is the Heckler & Koch G36K carbine, which was procured to supplement and eventually replace the MP5, G3, and HK33. L104 riot guns are available for crowd control purposes. Long arms are still routinely carried in areas of higher threat such as Derry , Belfast (particularly north and west), and various border areas. The best known PSNI vehicle
539-506: Is no point in saying that that is anything other than positive discrimination." However, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission cited international human rights law to show that special measures to secure minority participation were in accordance with human rights standards and did not in law constitute 'discrimination'. By February 2011, 29.7% of the 7,200 officers were from a Catholic background, but among
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#1732852774633588-573: Is the Land Rover Tangi armoured vehicle , used extensively during the volatile period of the Troubles. In 2011, however, it was announced that some of the aging Tangi fleet were to be replaced in response to officer safety concerns following the 2010 Northern Ireland riots , and as of 2021, only four remained in frontline service. Replacements sourced by the PSNI from 2012 onwards included 176 OVIK PANGOLIN Armoured Public Order Vehicles and 124 Penman Public Order vehicles, both of which are based on
637-560: Is the tactical unit of the PSNI. HMSU officers are trained to Specialist Firearms Officer (SFO) and Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer (CTSFO) standards. They undergo a 26-week training program including firearms, unarmed combat, roping, driving and photography. Tactical Support Group (TSG) officers provide a range of core and specialist services to district policing teams. Core TSG functions include public order, counter terrorism and crime reduction, community safety, crime scene response, and surveillance capability. The colour of
686-787: The Gardaí . In 2019 the PSNI introduced a new integrated body armour system similar to the Osprey body armour used by the British Army , intended to be lighter and more comfortable to wear. Due to the elevated threat posed by armed paramilitary groups, and in contrast to the majority of police services in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland , all PSNI officers are routinely armed while on duty, with officers also permitted to carry firearms while off-duty. Historically, RUC officers were issued with
735-536: The Land Rover Defender chassis. The PSNI today uses mostly conventional vehicles as part of its fleet of up to 2,690 vehicles for regular patrols across Northern Ireland, most of which consist of marked and unmarked estate cars and SUVs . These can be categorised as either armoured or "soft skin" unarmoured vehicles, with the former receiving armoured panels and bulletproof windows. In November 2020, 50 Škoda Kodiaqs and five Škoda Superbs were supplied to
784-551: The PSNI uniform is bottle green . Pre-1970s RUC uniforms retained a dark green called rifle green , which was often mistaken as black. A lighter shade of green was introduced following the Hunt Report in the early 1970s, although Hunt recommended that British blue should be introduced. The Patten report, however, recommended the retention of the green uniform (Recommendation No. 154). The RUC officially described this as 'rifle green'. When
833-581: The Patten Report , in order to address the under-representation of Catholics that had existed for many decades in policing; in 2001 the RUC was almost 92% Protestant. Many unionist politicians said the "50:50" policy was unfair, and when the Bill to set up the PSNI was going through Parliament, Minister of State Adam Ingram stated: " Dominic Grieve referred to positive discrimination and we hold our hands up. Clause 43 refers to discrimination and appointments and there
882-586: The Royal Military Police instead of the RUC . Doubts had since been raised about the independence and effectiveness of these investigations. Major reforms to the structure and resourcing of PSNI announced in September 2014 meant the closure of the Historical Enquiries Team, to be replaced by 'a much smaller unit' within PSNI. The HET has investigated several of the most controversial killings during
931-506: The Ruger Speed-Six revolver and had access to the Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun and the Heckler & Koch G3 and Heckler & Koch HK33 rifles (which replaced the earlier Sterling submachine guns and Ruger AC-556 select-fire rifles between 1992 and 1995), with the PSNI inheriting these weapons upon formation. The PSNI's standard issue firearm is the Glock 17 pistol, which
980-582: The 2,500 police staff (non-warranted members), where the 50:50 rule operated only for larger recruitment drives, the proportion of Catholics was just 18%. The British Government nevertheless proposed to end the 50:50 measure, and provisions for 'lateral entry' of Catholic officers from other police forces, with effect from the end of March 2011. Following a public consultation the special measures were ended in respect of police officers and police staff in April 2011. Deloitte conducted recruitment exercises on behalf of
1029-519: The Air Support Unit responded to over 4,000 callouts, 12 were Casualty evacuations and participated in over 250 missing people searches. All aircraft are used for investigations, anti-crime operations, traffic management, search and rescue, public order situations, crime reduction initiatives and tackling terrorism. In May 2005, the PSNI took delivery of its first helicopter, a Eurocopter EC 135 , registration G-PSNI and callsign Police 44. In 2010,
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#17328527746331078-530: The British paratroopers when attempting to give aid to Majella. Majella was airlifted to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry , where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Williams was initially charged with murder by the RUC , but this was later reduced to the lesser charge of manslaughter . In 1977, during his trial, Pvt. Williams claimed in his defence that a IRA sniper had shot at him, and that Majella had been caught in
1127-582: The British soldier who shot her was not returning fire, as he had claimed. A HET report into the loyalist murders of three brothers from south Armagh in 1976 exonerated them and their family of any links to paramilitarism. The brothers - John Martin, Brian and Anthony Reavey who were all Catholic - were shot dead by six masked men who burst into their home in Whitecross in January 1976. In the Sean Graham bookmakers' shooting , five Catholic civilians were killed in
1176-702: The Investigation team has been recruited locally. The team aimed to fulfil its mandate by 2011. However, the investigators - along with the Police Ombudsman - agreed that they would require further time to work through the outstanding cases. Cases were generally handles in chronological order. At that time, under an agreement between the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), military witnesses to deaths were often initially interviewed by
1225-758: The PSNI and it is the only one permitted to be flown on any PSNI building, vehicle, aircraft or vessel. PSNI officers wear overt body armour vests featuring RF1 standard ballistic plates , designed to stop high-velocity rifle rounds. Beginning in December 2007 body armour was required for PSNI officers operating in the Greater Belfast and Greater Derry City areas owing to the threat from dissident republicans . As of 2020, all officers are issued with ballistic body armour, however in some lower-risk areas officers are permitted, on an optional basis, to wear stab vests , such as those worn by most UK police officers and
1274-433: The PSNI as part of a programme to modernise the force's fleet; vehicles either currently or previously operated by the PSNI include Škoda Octavias , Vauxhall Vectras , Volkswagen Passats , Ford Mondeos and Audi A6 and A4s , as well as BMW R1200RT motorcycles. In addition to using cars, vans and motorcycles, the PSNI also have a fleet of 242 bicycles which are used for city centres and walkway patrols. In 2014
1323-430: The PSNI remains under the chief constable. In addition to the PSNI, there are other agencies which have responsibility for specific parts of Northern Ireland's transport infrastructure: PSNI officers have full powers of a constable throughout Northern Ireland and the adjacent United Kingdom waters. Other than in mutual aid circumstances they have more limited powers of a constable in the other two legal jurisdictions of
1372-642: The PSNI strives to make savings. In 2001 the old police divisions and sub-divisions were replaced with 29 district command units (DCUs), broadly coterminous with local council areas. In 2007 the DCUs were replaced by eight districts ('A' to 'H') in anticipation of local government restructuring under the Review of Public Administration. Responsibility for policing and justice was devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 9 March 2010, although direction and control of
1421-458: The PSNI took delivery of its second aircraft, a Eurocopter EC 145 registration G-PSNO and callsign Police 45 at a cost of £7 million. In July 2013, a third helicopter entered service, Eurocopter EC 145 , registration G-PSNR and callsign Police 46. The PSNI operates two fixed wing aircraft for aerial surveillance. In August 1992, a Britten-Norman BN-2T Islander entered service with registration G-BSWR and callsign Scout 1. In July 2011,
1470-521: The PSNI, and investigates any allegations of misconduct by police officers. Police staff do not fall under the ombudsman's jurisdiction. The current Police Ombudsman is former Oversight Commissioner Michael Maguire, who took over from Al Hutchinson in July 2012. The Oversight Commissioner was appointed to ensure that the Patten recommendations were implemented 'comprehensively and faithfully', and attempted to assure
1519-501: The PSNI, and was the dominant firm in the Consensia Partnership which existed from 2001 to 2009. As of 2017, the PSNI have announced that it will be introducing new schemes to increase the number of Catholics in the force. The PSNI is focusing on tackling the fear factor of joining the service as violent dissident Republicans are discouraging Catholics from joining and continue to attack Catholic officers. In September 2006 it
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1568-667: The PSNI. The senior officer in charge of the PSNI is its chief constable . The chief constable is appointed by the Northern Ireland Policing Board , subject to the approval of the Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland . The Chief Constable of Northern Ireland is the third-highest paid police officer in the UK (after the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police ). The current chief constable
1617-509: The Troubles, including the killing of Terry Herdman (17) in 1973, who had friends in the IRA and was accused of being an informer. He was hence killed by the IRA as they regarded him as a "liability"; the HET reported that Herdman did not knowingly betray IRA secrets to the Army or the police. The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) report on the 1975 Miami Showband killings , an ambush on civilians travelling in
1666-576: The United Kingdom— England and Wales , and Scotland . Police staff, although non-warranted members of the service, contribute to both back-office, operational support and front-line services, sometimes operating alongside warranted colleagues. The Patten Report recommended that a programme of long-term personnel exchanges should be established between the PSNI and the Garda Síochána , the national police force of Ireland . This recommendation
1715-516: The aircraft sustained damage during a crash-landing at Aldergrove . In June 2013, prior to the G8 summit , a Britten-Norman Defender 4000 entered service with registration G-CGTC and callsign Scout 2. Until 2019 when NPAS purchased four planes, the PSNI was for many years the only UK police service operating fixed-wing aircraft. Other items of equipment include: Killing of Majella O%27Hare Majella O'Hare ( c. 1964 – 14 August 1976)
1764-503: The community that all aspects of the report were being implemented and being seen to be implemented. The oversight role ended on 31 May 2007, with the final report indicating that of Patten's 175 recommendations, 140 had been completed with a further 16 "substantially completed". The PSNI is also internally regulated by its Professional Standards Department, who can direct local "professional standards champions" (superintendents at district level) to investigate relatively minor matters, while
1813-401: The controversial tactics and required that any risk had been properly explained to them and a risk assessment completed. As of April 2023, the PSNI is structured with the following departments: Specially-trained Armed Response Unit (ARU) officers support other parts of PSNI when faced with people who are carrying weapons such as knives and firearms. Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU)
1862-475: The new police service as the Police Service of Northern Ireland (incorporating the Royal Ulster Constabulary) ; shortened to Police Service of Northern Ireland for operational purposes. Although the majority of PSNI officers are Ulster Protestants , this dominance is not as pronounced as it was in the RUC because of positive action policies. The RUC was a militarised police force and played
1911-649: The organization that carried out the act, the South Armagh Republican Action Force (SARAF), included members of the Provisional IRA despite that organization being on a ceasefire. The HET report said that the 10 all male victims of the massacre, 4 of whom belonged to the Orange Order , were targeted because they were from the Protestant community, and that their murder was a sectarian response to
1960-499: The police and military (which the report called 'state involvement cases') were 'being reviewed with less rigour in some areas' than non-state cases. [REDACTED] Category Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland ( PSNI ; Irish : Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann ; Ulster-Scots : Polis Service o Norlin Airlan ), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and
2009-576: The prevention of crime within Northern Ireland . It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reformed and renamed in 2001 on the recommendation of the Patten Report . The PSNI is the third largest police service in the United Kingdom in terms of officer numbers (after the Metropolitan Police and Police Scotland ) and the second largest in terms of geographic area of responsibility, after Police Scotland. The PSNI
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2058-539: The same and traditionally consists of peaked caps for males and kepi style hats for females. Baseball style caps are worn by tactical units. The PSNI badge features the St. Patrick's saltire , and six symbols representing different and shared traditions: The flag of the PSNI is the badge in the centre of a dark green field. Under the Police Emblems and Flags Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 no other flag can be used by
2107-452: The shooting of 7 Catholics in the Reavey and O'Dowd killings that occurred the night before but that it was planned before that event. This is in line with the contemporary statement issued by the spokesman for SARAF. In the fatal shooting of Aidan McAnespie on 21 February 1988, the British Army soldier claimed that his hands were wet, causing him to inadvertently fire his machine gun when he
2156-470: The six new versions of the PSNI uniform were introduced, in March 2002, the term 'bottle green' was used for basically the same colour to convey a less militaristic theme. In 2018 a formal review was launched about the current uniform after officers gave feedback on it. On 31 January 2022, a new uniform was introduced for frontline officers. This change replaced the white shirt and tie that was worn since 2001 with
2205-611: Was a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the back by a British paratrooper while walking to church in Whitecross , in August 1976. On 14 August, 1976, Majella, along with some friends, was going to St. Malachy's church in Whitecross. As the group passed a security checkpoint, British paratrooper Pvt. Michael Williams shot Majella twice in the back with a general-purpose machine gun, from around 20 to 30 yards away. Majella's father Jim and her brother Michael O'Hare were allegedly harassed by
2254-418: Was confirmed that Assistant Chief Constable Judith Gillespie approved the PSNI policy of using children as informants including in exceptional circumstances to inform on their own family but not their parents. The document added safeguards including having a parent or "appropriate adult" present at meetings between juveniles and their handler. It also stressed a child's welfare should be paramount when considering
2303-611: Was enacted in 2002 by an Inter-Governmental Agreement on Policing Cooperation, which set the basis for the exchange of officers between the two services. There are three levels of exchanges: The protocols for these movements of personnel were signed by both the Chief Constable of the PSNI and the Garda Commissioner on 21 February 2005. The PSNI is supervised by the Northern Ireland Policing Board . The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland deals with any complaints regarding
2352-574: Was moving inside a sanger . The report called this the "least likely version" of what happened. Damien Walsh (17) was murdered while working at a coal supply business in Twinbrook in 1993. The HET reported that undercover British soldiers were watching as UFF loyalists murdered the Catholic teenager but were too far away to intervene. William McGreanery (41) was shot by a British soldier in Derry in 1971 when he
2401-404: Was walking past an observation point. An investigation by the HET into Mr MrGreanery's death found that he was not carrying a firearm and he posed no threat to the soldiers, despite earlier claims that he was. Majella O'Hare from Whitecross was on her way to confession on August 14, 1976, when she was hit in the back by a bullet. A HET report backed an earlier RUC investigation which found that
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