PSNI Connect Rolls Out Across Northern Ireland to Give Communities a Direct Voice

Key Points

• PSNI Connect has been expanded across Northern Ireland after an initial rollout in Lisburn and Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne and Down.
• The free platform allows residents, businesses and community groups to communicate with local neighbourhood police officers.
• Users can raise concerns about local issues, complete surveys and receive feedback about policing activity.
• The platform is not intended for reporting emergency or non-emergency crimes.
• A launch event at the Dunadry Hotel in Antrim was attended by about 120 stakeholders.
• The Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime (EPPOC) funded the initiative to support greater community involvement.
• Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said users would receive local policing updates, crime prevention advice, appeals for information and details of community events.
• Superintendent Joanne Gibson, who leads the PSNI Connect project, said the initiative is intended to help police work with communities on issues affecting them.
• The PSNI said around 1,500 people had signed up in the two districts involved in the initial rollout by the time of the nationwide launch.
• The supplied report separately cites figures of close to 1,700 sign-ups and 655 completed priority surveys, illustrating that participation figures have been increasing during the rollout.
• Road safety, speeding, nuisance vehicle use and antisocial behaviour have been among the issues raised in Lisburn and Castlereagh.
• The PSNI has identified misuse of e-scooters as one of the concerns raised through the platform.
• PSNI Connect allows users to communicate privately, with the PSNI saying other community members cannot see their contact with police.
• The nationwide expansion began on October 1 following the launch event held in Antrim on September 29.

Ireland Now News (INN) October 2, 2026 – PSNI Connect has been extended across Northern Ireland, giving residents, businesses and community groups a new channel for communicating with neighbourhood police about local concerns and helping inform policing priorities. The free platform, initially introduced in Lisburn and Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne and Down at the end of June, has now been made available across the region. The Police Service of Northern Ireland says the service is designed for community engagement rather than crime reporting, while users can receive local updates, complete surveys and provide feedback privately.

The expansion was marked by an event at the Dunadry Hotel in Antrim, where about 120 stakeholders gathered to discuss the initiative and its wider rollout.

According to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, representatives at the event included the Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime, known as EPPOC, which funded the platform under the objective of increasing community voice. Representatives from Police Community Safety Partnerships, as well as education, housing and sporting organisations, also attended.

What is PSNI Connect and why has it been expanded across Northern Ireland?

PSNI Connect is a free community engagement platform operated by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. It is intended to establish a direct communication channel between local communities and neighbourhood officers.

The PSNI says residents, businesses and community groups can use the platform to keep in contact with local police, raise concerns about issues affecting their areas and receive information about how police are responding.

The nationwide rollout follows an initial implementation in Lisburn and Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne and Down at the end of June. Following that first phase, the service was prepared for expansion to the remaining areas of Northern Ireland.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the national launch would give users direct contact with neighbourhood officers operating in areas where they live, work or regularly visit.

As reported by the PSNI in its September 29 announcement, Henderson said people signing up would receive updates about local police activity, crime prevention advice, appeals for information and ongoing events in their communities. He also said users would be able to complete surveys, share feedback and help shape local policing priorities.

Henderson described PSNI Connect as a way for people to have a voice in what happens in their local community.

How can residents use the PSNI Connect platform?

The platform is designed around community engagement rather than the formal reporting of crimes.

Residents can use it to tell police about concerns affecting their neighbourhoods, express views through surveys and receive information relevant to their area. Businesses and community organisations can also participate.

The PSNI says people can choose the information they want to receive. This means users can determine which categories of local updates are relevant to them rather than receiving every available communication.

The platform also provides a mechanism for police to gather information about community priorities. Upon registration, users are asked to complete a short survey covering their concerns, perceptions of safety, views about their local area and their views on local policing.

This feedback gives police information about issues that residents consider important.

The PSNI has emphasised that communication through the platform is private. Henderson said contact cannot be viewed by other people in the community and that other users would not know who had signed up.

That privacy element is a central feature of the initiative because it distinguishes PSNI Connect from open social media discussions, where comments and complaints can be publicly visible.

What issues have communities raised through PSNI Connect?

The early rollout has provided an indication of the types of concerns residents may want police to address.

Superintendent Joanne Gibson, who leads the PSNI Connect project, said road safety had been among the main issues raised in Lisburn and Castlereagh.

The concerns included speeding, nuisance vehicle use and antisocial behaviour.

The PSNI has also identified the misuse of e-scooters as one of the concerns coming through the platform in parts of the district.

According to the information supplied for this report, police have carried out a number of operations aimed at tackling e-scooter-related problems. PSNI Connect has subsequently provided an additional channel for gathering feedback on those operations.

The significance of the feedback is that the platform is not intended simply to distribute information from police to residents. It is also intended to allow information to move in the opposite direction, from communities to local officers.

This two-way communication model is central to the stated purpose of the initiative.

How many people have signed up to PSNI Connect?

Participation has increased since PSNI Connect was first introduced.

In its September 29 announcement, the PSNI said approximately 1,500 people had signed up in Lisburn and Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne and Down before the nationwide rollout.

Superintendent Gibson said the number demonstrated early engagement while also stressing that the project would require time to develop.

The material supplied for this report gives a later figure of close to 1,700 sign-ups across Northern Ireland and says 655 priority surveys had been completed. It also contains an earlier reference to 730 people signing up since launch.

The differing figures reflect different points in the rollout and should therefore not be treated as a single simultaneous measurement. The PSNI’s own September 29 announcement recorded approximately 1,500 registrations in the two initial districts before the nationwide expansion.

Gibson said the project should be viewed as a gradual process and that the PSNI expected participation to grow as more communities became aware of the service.

She also thanked engagement chief inspectors Megan Rocks and Adam Ruston for supporting the initial work in their respective areas, as well as officers who had undertaken training ahead of the wider rollout.

What did Superintendent Joanne Gibson say about the nationwide rollout?

Superintendent Gibson said PSNI Connect was based around the idea of connecting communities and building confidence.

According to the PSNI’s published account of the launch, she said the police wanted to work with communities across Northern Ireland to help prevent and deter crime and to work in partnership on issues affecting local areas.

Gibson also encouraged people to register with the platform and said users could decide what information they wanted to receive.

She said residents could contribute to the development of PSNI Connect as it expanded and that she expected the service to develop over the coming weeks, months and years.

Her comments placed emphasis on the platform as an evolving community engagement mechanism rather than a finished system whose role would remain unchanged.

The involvement of local officers is also important to the model. Rather than directing users towards a single central communication channel, the platform is intended to connect them with neighbourhood policing teams working in their communities.

Who attended the PSNI Connect launch event?

Around 120 stakeholders attended the event at the Dunadry Hotel in Antrim.

The PSNI said the gathering included representatives from EPPOC, which funded the initiative under the objective of increasing community voice.

Representatives of Police Community Safety Partnerships were also present, together with partners from education, housing and sport.

Assistant Chief Constable Henderson and Superintendent Gibson spoke at the event.

The PSNI also said officers involved in the initial rollout attended, alongside colleagues who had experience of similar community engagement initiatives elsewhere in the UK.

Those participants discussed what had worked in previous projects and lessons that could be applied during the Northern Ireland rollout.

The event therefore served both as a formal launch and as an opportunity to share experience among policing and community partners.

What information will users receive through PSNI Connect?

According to Assistant Chief Constable Henderson, users can receive several types of information through the platform.

These include updates about local policing work, crime prevention advice, appeals for information and details of events in their local area.

The system can also be used to distribute information relevant to particular communities, while surveys allow police to gather feedback on local priorities.

The PSNI has said that users can select the types of information they wish to receive.

This means that the platform is intended to operate as a more targeted communication system rather than simply another general-purpose police information channel.

The ability to provide feedback is another important element. Residents can identify issues that they believe affect their communities and provide views on policing priorities.

Can PSNI Connect be used to report a crime?

No. PSNI Connect is not intended for reporting emergency or non-emergency crimes or incidents.

The PSNI has specifically warned users not to use the platform for this purpose.

For non-emergency incidents, the police direct people towards their established reporting channels, including online reporting and the 101 telephone service. Emergencies should continue to be reported by calling 999.

This distinction is important because PSNI Connect is primarily designed for community engagement and feedback rather than replacing existing emergency and crime-reporting systems.

Its purpose is to provide information, gather community views and support communication between neighbourhood policing teams and the communities they serve.

How does privacy work on the platform?

Privacy is one of the features highlighted by the PSNI as part of the service.

Assistant Chief Constable Henderson said contact made through PSNI Connect is private and cannot be viewed by other members of the community.

He also said users would not receive unwanted commentary from other community members and that people would not know whether someone else had registered with the platform.

The PSNI’s description of the system therefore presents it as a private alternative for communicating local concerns, rather than a public discussion forum.

This could allow residents to communicate concerns without having their comments displayed publicly alongside responses from other users.

Why are road safety and antisocial behaviour significant early themes?

The issues identified during the initial rollout provide an indication of how community feedback can connect with neighbourhood policing.

Road safety concerns such as speeding and nuisance vehicle use can affect residents directly, while antisocial behaviour can involve a range of problems within particular communities.

The e-scooter issue highlighted by the PSNI provides another example of a local concern that can be raised through the platform and followed by police activity.

The PSNI says the platform has enabled it to receive feedback on operations designed to address such concerns.

The system does not, however, replace operational policing or formal reporting processes. Instead, its stated role is to provide another source of information about community priorities and residents’ experiences.

What does the nationwide rollout mean for communities across Northern Ireland?

The expansion means that PSNI Connect is no longer limited to the two districts involved in its initial rollout.

Residents, businesses and community groups across Northern Ireland can now engage with the platform and local neighbourhood officers through the system.

The PSNI’s objective is to use the wider participation base to understand concerns across different communities and provide information about local policing activity.

The rollout also creates the possibility of gathering more extensive survey responses as participation grows.

However, the scale and usefulness of the platform will depend on how many people register and how consistently communities use it. Superintendent Gibson has described the project as a gradual development, while the PSNI has encouraged residents to participate.

The service therefore represents an additional communication mechanism within neighbourhood policing rather than a replacement for emergency services, formal crime reporting or existing policing structures.

What is the background to PSNI Connect?

PSNI Connect was initially launched in Lisburn and Castlereagh and Newry, Mourne and Down at the end of June 2026.

Chief Inspector Adam Ruston, who oversees engagement in Newry, Mourne and Down, previously described the service as a means of improving communication between neighbourhood officers and local communities. A June report by Newry.ie said the initial service allowed residents and businesses to receive local policing information, provide feedback and help influence policing priorities.

That initial phase preceded the wider Northern Ireland rollout announced in September.

The PSNI said the nationwide launch followed preparations that included training officers in different areas. The launch event also brought together officers involved in the first phase and people with experience of similar initiatives elsewhere in the UK.

The Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime funded PSNI Connect as part of its stated aim of increasing community voice. The initiative consequently sits within a wider partnership approach involving policing, community safety and other local organisations.

The PSNI formally announced on September 29 that the platform would launch throughout Northern Ireland on October 1.

How could the expansion affect communities and local policing?

The likely effect of the nationwide rollout will depend largely on participation and on how information gathered through PSNI Connect is incorporated into local policing activity.

For communities, the platform provides another way to communicate concerns directly to neighbourhood officers, receive information and respond to local surveys.

For police, increased participation could provide a broader source of information about residents’ concerns and perceptions of local safety. The early experience in Lisburn and Castlereagh indicates that subjects such as speeding, nuisance vehicles, antisocial behaviour and e-scooter misuse can emerge as identifiable local priorities.

The platform may therefore become more useful as its registration base expands and more surveys are completed. At the same time, PSNI Connect remains separate from emergency and formal crime-reporting systems, meaning those established channels will continue to handle incidents requiring police response.

The immediate development is the transition from a two-district initial rollout to a Northern Ireland-wide service. Its longer-term effect will depend on levels of public participation, the quality of feedback received and how neighbourhood policing teams use that information in their work.