PSNI Deputy Chief Constable to take up secondment away from organisation

A senior PSNI commander who was subject to a vote of no confidence by rank-and-file officers is set to take up a secondment away from the organisation.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton has been away from work since September when he underwent an unplanned medical procedure.

He is now set to spend the remainder of 2024 on a secondment that will involve work with Stormont’s Department of Justice and the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

Those two employers will part fund Mr Hamilton’s salary during the 10-month secondment period.

In September last year the Police Federation representative body for rank-and-file officers passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton for his handling of a high-profile incident on Belfast’s Ormeau Road that led to two officers being disciplined.

That came after a High Court judge ruled that the disciplinary process against the two junior officers had been unlawful.

The court ruling was one of a series of controversies within the PSNI last year that led to the resignation of Chief Constable Simon Byrne.

Jon Boutcher went on to replace Mr Byrne as the region’s top-ranking officer.

A spokeswoman for the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the PSNI’s oversight body, confirmed the secondment plan.

She said it was now subject to approval by Justice Minister Naomi Long.

“At the request of the Chief Constable, the Policing Board has considered and approved a secondment for the Deputy Chief Constable,” the spokeswoman said.

“The secondment approval is now with the Department of Justice for consideration.”

The chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Liam Kelly, called for a thorough examination of the secondment recommendation.

He said officers were angered by the development.

“The officers I represent are incensed over this decision,” he said.

“Following a successful judicial review, the Federation unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in DCC Hamilton and the former Chief Constable over their handling of disciplinary issues around the Ormeau Road incident in 2021.”