A review of the Northern Ireland Policing Board was launched on 16 September 2024 by Justice Minister Naomi Long. The report was shared with Minister Long on 30 January 2025.
 
Mitchell Institute Fellow: The Politics and Security of Institutional Peacebuilding Dr John Topping was appointed as the Independent Expert Advisor to the Independent Reviewer, Mr Paul Sweeney, former Permanent Secretary in the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

Following a series of policing related incidents, the review of the Policing Board primarily involved members and staff of the NI Policing Board, the PSNI and representative bodies, and the Department of Justice.

The report can be viewed here.

The Department of Justice press release can be viewed here.

 

Dr John Topping

Dr Topping is criminologist and an internationally recognised expert in policing with over fifteen years’ experience working with the statutory policing institutions in Northern Ireland on a variety of research, advisory and consultancy roles.  He is based in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, and is also a Fellow at the Mitchell Institute.