Member's statement: PUL Community: PSNI Engagement
Member's statement by Ms Cheryl Brownlee on .
- MLA
- Ms Cheryl Brownlee
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 4 February 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- PUL Community: PSNI Engagement
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4778949
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Yesterday evening, along with party colleagues and members of the greater Shankill policing subgroup, I attended a fantastic Protestant/unionist/loyalist (PUL) reference, engagement and listening (REal) event at the Spectrum Centre on the Shankill Road, where we met the Chief Constable, the Deputy Chief Constable and staff from the PSNI. There was an important and open discussion, with clear acknowledgment of the concerns around two-tier policing. Crucially, the Chief Constable committed that, under his leadership, all voices will be heard equally and everyone will be treated the same under the law. The event also provided an opportunity to discuss the barriers to recruitment and what more can be done to ensure that those in working-class areas can equally access career opportunities in the PSNI. I commend the community organisers for their role in making the engagement possible, bringing together the PUL community from across Northern Ireland and creating a space for constructive and positive dialogue. The Chief Constable made it clear that the police are there to police and that everyone will be policed equally. That is all we have ever asked for, and it is what that community will continue to demand. May it only be the start of more positive engagement with the PSNI in Northern Ireland.
208 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.23 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.54).
- Subject area: Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.39 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.09 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.06 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.12 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.57 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.23 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.54 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.04 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.41 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.99 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:51 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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