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PSNI: Lowest Percentage of Catholics Apply to Join Force in over a Decade
The Catholic applicant share fell to 26.7%, the lowest since 2013, amid concerns over disruptive outreach and outdated attitudes, while total applications exceeded 4,000.
- On Wednesday, February 4, the PSNI closed its 2026 student officer recruitment with 4,104 applications, the police said.
- Catholic representation slipped to 26.7% of applicants, down from 28.8% in 2025 and the lowest share since 2013, police figures show.
- PSNI data show 2,692 Protestant applicants , 2,604 male applicants , 1,500 female applicants , and 298 LGBT+ applicants .
- Falling officer strength intensified concern as PSNI officer numbers dropped to 6,190 last summer, well below the Patten Report target of 7,500, while Colin McGrath warned the low Catholic applicant share should ring alarm bells.
- Chief Constable Jon Boutcher earlier this month appealed for broader support to help policing become representative of all communities and said successful recruits will start a 22-week training programme from Autumn 2026 at the Police College, Garnerville.
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11 Articles
11 Articles
Evening Standard+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
Concern over lowest percentage of Catholic applicants to PSNI in a decade
SDLP MLA Colin McGrath urged intervention to stop further decline.
·London, United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution70% Center
Bias Distribution
- 70% of the sources are Center
70% Center
L 30%
C 70%
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