Long launches Review of Northern Ireland Policing Board

Justice Minister Naomi Long is today announcing a review of the Northern Ireland Policing Board will commence on Monday 16 September 2024.

Paul Sweeney, former Permanent Secretary in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, has been appointed as Independent Reviewer. Dr John Topping, senior lecturer of Criminology at Queens University Belfast will act as the Independent Expert Advisor to the Independent Reviewer to inform the review process and outcomes.

The Minister said: "A review of the policing board was initially announced by the former chair of the Board, following a series of policing related incidents. However, it has always been my preference that an independent review be carried out and I thank Paul Sweeney and John Topping for agreeing to take it forward. I look forward to receiving the findings and recommendations of the review in due course.

"The review will be tightly focused and delivered in a timely manner to conclude by the end of December. It will primarily involve members and staff of the NI Policing Board, the PSNI and representative bodies, and the Department of Justice."

Notes to editors:

Terms of Reference of the review

• Statutory functions - To determine the extent to which the Board carries out its statutory duties to hold the PSNI to account, whilst in parallel, ensuring an efficient and effective police service.
• Roles and Responsibilities - To review the definition and management of organisational boundaries and respective roles and functions, drawing on recent experience, including but not limited to the Scofield judgement. This should include the Board's interfaces in the context of the tripartite arrangements with the PSNI and the Department of Justice.
• Working Practices - To review the degree to which the Board adopts a corporate approach to discharging its functions in the context of the tripartite arrangements with DoJ and PSNI. To review the effectiveness of, and compliance with, key policies and processes for members and staff [e.g. Codes of Conduct] to ensure they maximise the ability of the Board to respect the need for confidentiality and corpocracy.

Paul Sweeney retired from the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 2017 having held a number of senior positions including Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education from 2010 to 2017, Permanent Secretary in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure from 2006 to 2010, and Under Secretary in the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister from 2001 to 2006.

Dr John Topping is criminologist and an internationally recognised expert in policing with over fifteen years' experience working with the statutory policing institutions in Northern Ireland on a variety of research, advisory and consultancy roles. He is based in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, and is also a fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.

For media enquiries please contact the DoJ Press Office via EMAIL

The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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