‘We are not complacent about loyalist alienation’ says police deputy

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton says that he is not “complacent” about the feelings many loyalists have towards the police, and that it is hoped to attract new recruits from that community.
By Adam Kula
Published 2nd Nov 2021, 22:06 BST
PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton at the launch of a new recruitment campaign at the PSNI headquarters in BelfastPSNI Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton at the launch of a new recruitment campaign at the PSNI headquarters in Belfast
PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton at the launch of a new recruitment campaign at the PSNI headquarters in Belfast

Speaking at the launch of a PSNI recruitment event, he said “another 10 years of hard work” could be needed in trying to make the PSNI more representative of different minority groups.

However, when it comes to 50:50 recruitment, he suggested this in itself may not address the declining numbers of Catholic recruits, with “the issue of dissident republicanism” being an ongoing threat.

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Mr Hamilton acknowledged that the PSNI also faced a “challenge” in convincing young loyalists to join.

“The issue of confidence in the loyalist community has been writ large with us for a large part of this year,” said Mr Hamilton.

“We understand that, we recognise that.

“So we’re not complacent at all about what that means. Our outreach programme for this recruitment campaign includes loyalist areas and we hope it works.”

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