{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-recruitment-northern-ireland-regulations-2001/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-recruitment-northern-ireland-regulations-2001/note.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/2001/140",
  "legislation_title": "Police (Recruitment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2001",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-recruitment-northern-ireland-regulations-2001",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations.)\nThese regulations set out the qualifications required for appointment to the police and prescribe functions to be exercised by a person (the police recruitment agent) appointed by the Chief Constable in connection with the recruitment of police trainees and police reserve trainees. They also prescribe arrangements for the recruitment of police trainees and police reserve trainees. They give effect to recommendations of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland in its report “A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland” (the “Patten Report”) published on 9th September 1999.\nReference is made in this explanatory note to “police trainees”. The Patten Report recommended that those appointed to be police constables should have to complete their initial training successfully before acquiring all the powers, duties and privileges of a police officer. The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 gives effect to this recommendation. In future candidates for appointment as police constables will be appointed as police trainees or police reserve trainees until the successful completion of their training.\nRegulation 2, paragraph (2) sets out the requirements for appointment as a police officer, including criminal conviction criteria at Schedule 1 to the Regulations.\nRegulation 3 requires that suitably qualified candidates for appointment as police trainees enter a pool of candidates from which appointments will be made in accordance with section 46 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 (commonly referred to as the 50:50 recruitment provisions whereby half of those appointed are to be treated as Roman Catholic and half not so treated).\nRegulation 4 requires the Chief Constable to appoint an agent to recruit qualified candidates for appointment as police trainees and police reserve trainees. The latter will serve in the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve on a part-time basis.\nRegulation 5 sets out the functions which the police recruitment agent is to undertake including the testing of candidates, the information to be supplied by candidates, the advertising of vacancies, the appointment of lay assessors and the formation of pools of qualified candidates. Regulation 11 requires that the Chief Constable shall not contract out the vetting of candidates, firearms testing or equal opportunities monitoring.\nRegulation 5(4) provides that the Chief Constable will determine the terms and conditions upon which the agent is appointed with the approval of the Policing Board (by virtue of paragraph 2 of Schedule 7 to the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 the Police Authority for Northern Ireland can carry out the Policing Board’s functions in connection with recruitment).\nRegulation 6 requires that vacancies for police trainees and police reserve trainees be published and that the police recruitment agent must have regard to the recommendations of the Patten Report in conducting advertising.\nRegulation 7 requires the agent to obtain information from candidates to establish whether they are qualified. Information about criminal convictions will, however, be dealt with by the police.\nRegulation 8 requires the agent to carry out, or make arrangements for doing so in the case of medical tests, testing of candidates. The police will carry out firearms testing (regulation 11).\nRegulation 9 requires the agent to appoint lay assessors to take part in assessing candidates for recruitment as police and police reserve trainees.\nRegulation 10 requires the Policing Board (the Police Authority prior to the Board’s establishment) to appoint independent community observers to observe aspects of the recruitment process and make reports to the Board on its adequacy and consistency of application.\nRegulation 12 requires the Chief Constable to establish a vetting panel, which must include an independent member nominated by the Policing Board, to assess the suitability of candidates for appointment as police trainees and police reserve trainees.\nWhere a candidate is rejected by the panel under regulation 12 he or she may ask for the panel’s decision to be reviewed by an Independent Assessor appointed by the Secretary of State after consulting the Policing Board under regulation 13. The Independent Assessor can ask the panel to review its decision or make recommendations but must make a report to the Chief Constable or a senior officer or member of the police support staff nominated by the Chief Constable stating whether he agrees or disagrees with the panel’s decision. The final decision as to a candidate’s suitability rests with the Chief Constable but the candidate must be informed of the Independent Assessor’s conclusion.\nRegulation 14 requires the Independent Assessor to make an annual report on his functions to the Secretary of State and the Policing Board.\nRegulation 15 places restriction on the disclosure of information by the Independent Assessor and the independent vetting panel member.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2001/140/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:12:06.704973+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}