The High Court in Belfast has today upheld the policy of equal recruitment of Protestants and Roman Catholics into the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Mr Justice Kerr this morning said the need to correct the religious imbalance in the police force was undeniable when he gave judgment in a legal challenge by a
young Protestant whose application to join the force was turned down.
"It cannot seriously be disputed that a police force should be representative of the community that it serves," he said. "That had been recognised and endorsed by all the parties who suppported the Belfast Agreement.
"That agreement had in turn been endorsed by 71 per cent of the voting population. These circumstances provide formidable support for a method of recruitment that would strike at the heart of the problem," the judge said.
A judicial review of the recruitment policy was applied for by 18 year-old Mr Mark Parsons, a Protestant from Bangor, whose application to join the PSNI was rejected even though he was included in the pool of qualified candidates.
The Police Recuitment Branch had told him the Chief Constable must make appointments in equal numbers "based on the candidates’ community background".
Mr Parsons was in court to hear the judgement and afterwards his father said: "It is clear that Catholics had lower scores than Mark but due to the political situation here they got in. We don’t agree with any discrimination against any community but we are disappointed with the judgement".