Return to 50/50 PSNI hiring 'would be a lazy substitute for leadership' says DUP as number of Catholic applicants falls

Policing Board member Trevor Clarke said that "politicisation or the dilution of standards" are not the ways to forge a " representative police service".

The PSNI released figures on Wednesday night which showed the breakdown in applications as part of its two most recent hiring drives - one of which ended this month.

The percentage of applicants for the 2026 drive were as follows:

• Protestant: 65.6%

• Catholic: 26.7%

• Undetermined: 7.7%.

That compares with the following figures from the 2025 drive:

• Protestant: 65.4%

• Catholic: 28.8%

• Undetermined: 5.8%

The declining proportion of Catholic applicants sparked suggestions from Sinn Fein and SDLP figures of a return to 50/50, which ended in 2011.

Though re-embracing 50/50 hiring would not change the applicant figures, it would serve to shore up the proportion of Catholic officers employed by the force, currently at 31.5%.

The 2021 census revealed 45.7% of the NI population to be from a Catholic background, compared to 43.5% from a Protestant background.

Mr Clarke told the News Letter: “Calls to bring back 50/50 recruitment are a lazy substitute for leadership from the SDLP and Sinn Fein.

"It is built on discrimination and would undermine merit at the very moment we need the best people in policing.

"Those attacking the culture of the PSNI and its history are often the same voices who have spent years discouraging people from their own communities from joining.

"If there is a genuine desire for a representative police service, that starts with encouragement and leadership - particularly in nationalism and republicanism - not politicisation or the dilution of standards.”

Speaking on Radio Foyle, Sinn Fein Policing Board member Linda Dillon was asked about a return to 50/50 and said: "We've always been very clear - we don't think 50/50 should have been removed.

"But I don't think 50/50 on its own will resolve these issues. We have to look honestly at the barriers and overcome them."

Asked about these "barriers" to Catholics, she said "legacy needs to be removed from the PSNI".

The BBC quoted SDLP MLA Colin McGrath as saying 50/50 would be "a drastic action that for a period of time could be undertaken to try and secure the numbers so that they are re-balanced".

Speaking on Nolan Live about "barriers" to Catholic recruitment, former Sinn Fein MLA Mairtin O Muilleoir had said: "The main block has been the PSNI insisting they want to defend the heritage they have inherited from the old RUC, and for me that's a fatal mistake."

He also said: "The culture of the PSNI does not reflect the culture of the community I now live in.

"My barber speaks Irish, my doctor speaks Irish, there are 40 Irish language schools throughout the north, and if you want to be reflective of the community you serve, where is the Irish language in the PSNI?"

In response, UUP leader Jon Burrows had said: "I don't really think that a young Catholic decides: I'm not going to join the PSNI cause there's not enough Irish spoken, or they won't reveal the name of Stakeknife.

"The reality is they are looking at: am I safe?"

In response to Mr Clarke's comments, the SDLP said: "Any claim that the SDLP does not support PSNI recruitment or show leadership is demonstrably false.

"The SDLP was at the forefront of the reforms to policing under Patten and supported PSNI recruitment at a time when doing so attracted much criticism.

"We were the first nationalist party to support PSNI recruitment and attend such events.

“For decades the SDLP has stood with the PSNI leadership to encourage recruitment.

"Most recently when SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP and Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA joined Chief Constable Jon Boutcher in January.

"Our Policing Board representative Colin McGrath also made a public call for people to consider a career in policing.

“It is clear that the PSNI does not currently reflect the communities it serves and the SDLP has made a number of proposals, including 50:50 recruitment and an independent review of policing and the rule of laws bodies to address this and other concerns.

"This is typical deflection from Trevor Clarke who seems happy for the PSNI to continue as is, with no regard for public confidence in policing.”

The PSNI told the News Letter: “The PSNI is committed to being representative of the communities we serve and significant progress has been made over the past 25 years in relation to those appointed within the service.

“Policing is a career that makes a difference to our society and, as such, we seek to recruit talented, dedicated people from all backgrounds…

"We acknowledge that there are challenges when recruiting from those backgrounds that are underrepresented, but this is something we’re determined to address and we put significant effort into our outreach and engagement activity.”