Return to 50:50 police recruitment would be a mistake – Gavin Robinson

Any return to 50:50 recruitment to the police force in Northern Ireland would be a “mistake”, DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said.

In his weekly email to party members, Mr Robinson also said there had been an “absence of sustained and wholehearted leadership” from republicans to challenge barriers to Catholics joining the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

New PSNI recruitment figures this week showed that the percentage of new Catholic applicants to join the force was at its lowest in more than a decade.

Police said more than 4,000 people had applied for their latest student officer recruitment campaign, with 65.6% from a Protestant background, 26.7% from a Catholic background and 7.7% undetermined.

That prompted fresh concerns about representation within the force.

Between 2001 and 2011, there was a 50:50 recruitment initiative which meant there was one Catholic recruit for every one person from a Protestant or other background.

Mr Robinson said there had been a “predictable” call for the return of 50:50 since the latest recruitment figures were released.

He said: “That would be a mistake.

“It would reintroduce discrimination and undermine merit. Representation cannot be built by excluding capable applicants from other backgrounds.”

Mr Robinson said Catholic applicants should be praised.

He added: “They strengthen policing, and they strengthen our society.

“Those republicans who wish to see more Catholics join the police must also be prepared to face the legacy of decades spent distancing themselves from policing.

“You cannot question the legitimacy of the police for a generation and then express surprise when recruitment reflects that history.

“Until that contradiction is confronted, claims of support will continue to be met with scepticism.”

Mr Robinson said “chill factors still existed for Catholic applicants to the police in Northern Ireland”.

He added: “Pretending otherwise helps no-one. But acknowledging that reality cannot be where the discussion stops.

“For too long, there has been an absence of sustained and wholehearted leadership within republicanism to challenge those barriers directly.

“It was an appalling abdication of leadership that it was 20 years after the PSNI was formed before Sinn Fein’s leadership attended a passing-out parade or a recruitment event.

“The time for tokenism is over.

“Leadership on policing requires consistency and visibility.”

Sinn Fein MLA and Policing Board member Linda Dillon said it is “imperative” that the PSNI is representative of society.

She said: “For this reason the PSNI need to listen to young people from a Catholic, nationalist, republican background to identify the barriers preventing them from joining them.

“Sinn Fein opposed the decision to withdraw 50:50 recruitment, its removal has negatively impacted on the recruitment and retention of officers, specifically from the Catholic/nationalist community.

“The political mishandling by the British government in failing to implement legacy arrangements under the Stormont House Agreement has also had a negative effect.

“The PSNI must strive to deliver a modern and representative policing structure, across all levels of the police service, including specialist units, that is as diverse as the community it serves and commands maximum public confidence.”