Northern Ireland's Police Liaison Committees∗

Abstract

Northern Ireland's Police Liaison Committees are intended to promote positive relations between the police and the public, to facilitate constructive dialogue regarding policing matters, and to foster solutions to local problems. This study evaluates the committees with the help of data derived from in‐depth interviews with representatives of seventeen committees. I assess the committees’ composition and links to their respective communities, the range of issues typically on their agendas, and their impact. Some of the findings are consistent with those of studies of police consultative committees in England and Wales, but other patterns are explained by factors unique to Northern Ireland.