Sammy Wilson MP MLA

“Wilson appalled at PSNI equality monitoring form”

Sammy Wilson MP has said he is appalled that the police are now asking for the political opinion of their recruits as well as their religion in order to ‘ensure the recruitment process is operated fairly’.

The East Antrim representative said:

“I am shocked and disgusted at this latest attempt to achieve ‘equality’. Is it not sufficiently scandalous and controversial that recruits are asked to state their religion, and not as a formality, but because their religion may well determine if they can enter the force?

But what is even more outrageous is that the political opinion of recruits is now being questioned. This question is not being asked without reason. The police will now make judgements on who will be in their ranks and this will be in part determined by their political opinion. This is to be expected in Zimbabwe, but not in Northern Ireland.

This has nothing to do with policing, indeed all this will serve to do is to damage the reputation of the police and undermine its standing across the community. The PSNI will be an example of a force that has pandered to political correctness and has forsaken the best recruits in favour of recruits with the ‘right’ religious and political beliefs.

If we want to see true equality in the police then we need to move towards the position where religion and politics is not taken into account when recruiting, but instead the skills, ability and suitability of the candidate is. Taking political opinion into account will only reinforce the views in the minds of some that the PSNI is a political police force.”

To View the Policing Board's Response, Click HERE...

ENDS

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