Chief constable doing 'everything' to 'root out' misogyny in PSNI

The chief constable has told the policing board he is "doing everything" he can to "root out" misogyny in the ranks of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Jon Boutcher also told the board "there were a number of absolutely unacceptable police failings in the investigation into the murder of Katie Simpson".

He was speaking days after a review into the handling of that case was published.

Katie, a 21-year-old showjumper, died in 2020 and her death was initially treated as suicide.

The review, published on Tuesday, found "institutional misogyny" and "systemic failures" within the PSNI during its handling of Katie's death.

Katie was groomed and killed by Jonathan Creswell, a showjumping trainer and the partner of Katie's sister.

He was eventually charged with her murder but took his own life one day after a trial began in 2024.

Speaking at the policing board on Thursday, Boutcher again apologised to the Simpson family and said much had changed within the PSNI.

He said he had spoken to the entire organisation and told officers there would be "zero tolerance" for misogyny and those who displayed that behaviour would "quickly lose their jobs".

But he told the board that that didn't apply to the majority of officers.

Questioning the chief constable, Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister said "you can't fire every misogynistic officer that exists in the PSNI because it's reflective of society so you need to find other ways to stamp it out and challenge it".

McAllister said that "you don't need extra resources, or finances, to not be a misogynistic police officer".

"I think it's really important that that message comes out from both the board and from the PSNI. That's just simply a fact, you don't need more money, you don't need more resources to not be misogynistic," she said.

The chief constable told the policing board that the PSNI was now victim focused and the organisation had done a huge amount of work on that.

He highlighted that one of his biggest concerns was that the police had the resources needed to do the work they want to do.

He also spoke about how prevalent crimes of violence against women and girls are, citing figures that show nearly 60 crimes of this nature are reported to the PSNI daily.

Addressing concerns around female representation in the force, Jon Boutcher said: "We need this organisation to represent the people of Northern Ireland."

He said 33% of officers were female, "broadly in line with policing in England and Wales", but he told the board he wanted that to be higher.

The review found police failed to seriously consider abuse or coercive control during its investigation and instead prioritised Creswell's account.

Warning signs were ignored and Katie's lived experience was disregarded.

The review also found 37 other victims - including children - later came forward alleging abuse by Creswell.

It made 16 recommendations, primarily focused on policing.

The independent review, led by Dr Jan Melia, took six months to complete and found "when police endorse misogyny, as they do here, risk to women escalates".

"Not one officer thought seriously about abuse/control, Katie's lived experience was disregarded, clear warning signs were ignored, established protocols were treated as optional/discretionary, and police chose to privilege Creswell's account," it continued.

It found an urgent "cultural shift" with the police was needed.

A separate investigation has been commissioned by the PSNI.