The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has confirmed the appointment of Jon Boutcher as interim chief constable. Boutcher, a former chief of Bedfordshire Police, will take over from Simon Byrne, who resigned in September following a series of crises during his leadership. The appointment has been welcomed by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris. Boutcher has decades of experience in law enforcement and had previously been selected for the role earlier this month, but his appointment was subject to agreement.
Boutcher stated that he was “absolutely delighted to be given the privilege of leading the exceptional men and women of the PSNI.” He acknowledged that the PSNI has faced challenging times and that recent events had been frustrating and distracting. Boutcher added that his priority is to first gain the confidence of rank-and-file officers within the force. The Police Board Chair, Deirdre Toner, expressed her confidence in the new interim head, stating that Boutcher’s appointment will bring much-needed stability to the PSNI and the executive leadership team until a permanent replacement is found.
Applications have been opened for the position of permanent PSNI chief constable on a salary of nearly £220,000. The deadline for applications is noon on 16 October. However, the process for filling the vacancy is expected to take several months. Boutcher declined to comment on whether he would be applying for the permanent role.
Boutcher is no stranger to running a law enforcement agency since he previously served as chief of Bedfordshire Police. For the past five years, he has been overseeing an independent investigation into the activities of the British army’s top spy during the Northern Ireland Troubles, a person known as Stakeknife. His investigation report, titled Operation Kenova, is set to be published in the near future. Sir Iain Livingstone, a former chief constable of Police Scotland, will take over from Boutcher in leading operation Kenova. Boutcher stated that his appointment should in “no way” delay the publishing of the Kenova report
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More