Almost 8,000 people have applied to join the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, it emerged last night.
Equal numbers of Catholics and Protestants are to be recruited for the new positions. The first 240 recruits will start training in September, and begin duties on the streets next spring.
The initial selection tests will be held on April 18th. Applications for the new service were first advertised on February 23rd and last month the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, confirmed that 19,500 people had asked for application packs.
The independent recruitment company handling the process, Consensia Partnership, last night said it had received 7,843 applications by the closing date at the end of last month.
It said it would give details of the numbers of applicants from the North, the Republic and Britain soon.
A further 480 recruits will join the new service next year. Almost 500 officers, among them some of the most senior figures in the force, have already left under severance arrangements negotiated under the Patten Report.
Sir Ronnie said at the weekend that once the Patten recommendations were fully in place, he would reconsider his own position within the force.
Last month he said he was confident that requirements for equal recruiting between Catholics and Protestants will be met.