The challenge facing the new Police Service of Northern Ireland was to set in train a process, which would change perceptions of the province's policing service and secure a 50% Catholic/50% Protestant recruitment profile over the next ten years. No mean task, especially given previous Catholic antipathy to enrolment and the controversy that surrounded the new service. The ensuing recruitment campaign, thoroughly researched and examined for political sensitivities, set about transforming Northern Ireland policing by encouraging inclusivity, free of sectarian taint. The campaign not only generated 7,843 applications per campaign compared to the previous 2,695 but exceeded the target of Catholic applications deemed necessary to provide the 50/50 recruitment split