LAST UPDATE | 7 Nov 2023

JON BOUTCHER HAS been appointed as the next Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the Northern Ireland Policing Board has confirmed.

Boucher, who has been serving as interim chief constable since Simon Byrne stepped down in September, has 35 years’ experience and has served as Assistant Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI.

Speaking about the appointment, Northern Irish Policing Board Chair Deirdre Toner said she was pleased to confirm Boutcher’s appointment this evening.

Toner said: “Jon takes on the leadership role for one of the most important public sector services in Northern Ireland.

“He is clearly committed to the challenges ahead, to tackling crime and criminality and to providing a policing service that is community based and focused on delivery to the public,” she added.

Toner hinted at the stark job Boutcher might have ahead, with “significant pieces of work to be progressed to manage and mitigate the serious financial pressures currently facing policing” as well as dealing with public’s confidence of the force.

“As a Board we look forward to working with him as Chief Constable in dealing with the challenges faced,” Toner said.

Boutcher  was until recently leading Operation Kenova, which has been investigating the activities of the IRA enforcer ‘Stakeknife’, the British Army’s top agent in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The Operation Kenova report is expected to be published in the coming months.

The PSNI Chief Constable salary is £219,894 (€254,102) plus benefits and Boutcher will fill the role for a fixed term of five years – with the possibility of extension in accordance with legislation. 

The appointment panel was of Toner; DUP member Joanne Bunting; Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly; the Alliance Party’s Nuala McAllister and independent board member Mukesh Sharma.

Boutcher previously applied to become PSNI chief constable in 2019 but lost out on that occasion to his predecessor, Simon Byrne.

Byrne resigned in September following pressure in regards to the handling of two controversies, an unlawful arrest carried out by two officers in 2021 and a data breach which saw around 10,000 PSNI officers and staff’s data finding its way online.

This data later landed in the hands of dissident republicans, who continue to target officers, the PSNI said.