In Milkman, Anna Burns’ Booker prize-winning novel set in 1980’s Belfast, the main character considers her community’s relationship to the police “the only time you’d call the police in my area would be if you were going to shoot them, and naturally they would know this and so wouldn’t come”. The world of Milkman is that of the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’, when violence an ever-present reality. Since the Good Friday Agreement and the new start to policing which followed, the NI police have emerged from that division and discord to become arguably the most successful institutional achievement of the wider peace process. But despite consistently high levels of public confidence and the support of all political parties in Northern Ireland, policing is still buffeted and bruised by the politics of both the present and the past.

Undoubtedly the organisation has transformed from its Royal Ulster Constabulary inheritance.  The name, crest and uniform are changed. Human rights are regarded as a core concern, and at the time of writing, 32% of police officers are Catholic. But much remains to be done – more than should, 25 years later.

My recent research on NI policing would suggest that several organisational concerns are apparent. The most significant is the central paradox which still sits at the heart of the PSNI. That is its relationship – organisationally, historically, and psychologically – with the past. The incorporation of the RUC into the PSNI, was a substantive issue in the creation of the service in 2001. This legacy was fought for by those who held an affinity to the RUC. While the outward-facing focus for the PSNI was on transformation (e.g. symbols, name, uniform), the body of the organisation was preserved within its physical, psychological, and commemorative architecture – from the material reality of the police estate to the norms and attitudes produced and reproduced within the service. This framing of outward change and internal continuity of service created an inherent tension and a cultural confusion which has not aided change and at times, has actively hampered it.

Externally too, the organisation’s past has been transmitted in the public memory through almost constant media reporting of enquiries, and persistent accusations of RUC collusion and ‘collusive behaviour’. The PSNI have proved resilient and, ironically, the elements which have provided this resilience – the structures, history and organisational memory, have also been the Achilles heel on which it has struggled to maintain community confidence and complete the transformative process. This is most obvious in the ongoing challenges around Catholic recruitment, with a 26.7% application rate from the Catholic community in 2026. As one young Catholic woman commented wryly to us during recent research, “27%? Sure, that’s not even a pass mark.”

Since it was established in 2001, the PSNI has lost two of its officers to dissident republican violence. It is fortunate not to have lost more. The murders of Stephen Carroll and Ronan Kerr, attacks on other officers and their families, and the many, many incidents that have been foiled have fundamentally changed the trajectory of policing internally and externally. These events have significantly impacted culture, creating fear, which has often been compounded by organisational mistakes, and reduced an appetite for risk which was so significant in pushing hard to move boundaries during the early days of the change process. It has of course, also acted as a major disincentive to Catholic recruits, creating a vicious circle of unbalanced representation, gaps in cultural awareness, and broken community connections.

For Catholics, joining policing in NI often requires an alienation from their own communities, and even their families. There are also significant concerns in terms of psychological safety – and worries that Catholic officers in particular, do not feel protected by the organisation. Recent mistakes such as the enormous data leak of 2023 have exacerbated that problem, but other fears – residual issues of sectarianism, concerns around promotion and advancement, evidence of greater referrals to professional standards, and concerns that relevant ‘intelligence’ on dissident activity wasn’t being given to them in a way that would allow officers to keep themselves safe, all come up in discussion.

Undoubtedly, the organisation faces significant problems. Brutal funding cuts, officer numbers that are too low for purpose, and a policing environment which is still volatile and unpredictable create a potential cliff edge for public confidence. Recent events in Drumcree show how easy it is for the PSNI to be drawn towards what are political challenges, rather than policing ones. The experienced infrastructure of conflict transformation which coalesced around the fledging PSNI and guided its development has also been significantly dissipated. The PSNI has been professionalised but the challenge of policing a still divided society remains, without the expertise of previous times.

Recent years have seen significant leadership concerns, in NI policing and politics. In past times engaged leadership has been critical to meaningful change. It will be the key again to getting the organisation back on track to fulfilling the promise and ambitions of 25 years ago.

Dr Joanne Murphy is Professor of Inclusive Leadership in Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. Her new book, co-authored with Dr Jess Bonnon White, is entitled Policing Northern Ireland: Leading through Conflict and Change.