A woman reached the upper ranks of policing in Northern Ireland for the first time last night when she was appointed as an assistant chief constable.
Ms Judith Gillespie (41) was appointed by the Northern Ireland Policing Board to be one of only five members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland command structure to hold the rank.
Ms Gillespie has been a police officer for the past 22 years and an acting assistant chief constable since last October.
Announcing the appointment, policing board chairman Prof Desmond Rea said: "We are delighted that Ms Gillespie has accepted the appointment and will be substantively joining the senior officer team of the PSNI."
Her appointment as the first female assistant chief constable came after she was selected by a five-member policing board panel which interviewed three shortlisted candidates.
Prof Rea added: "Assistant chief constables provide a key role in the delivery of the policing service here, and the experience Ms Gillespie has obtained throughout her policing career and more recently as acting assistant chief constable will be of benefit to her in the future."
A strong senior officer team was now in place to deliver "an effective policing service to the whole community in Northern Ireland", he said.
Welcoming her appointment Ms Gillespie said: "I am absolutely delighted with the appointment and look forward to working with the board and the PSNI command team in facing the challenges ahead."
Ms Gillespie progressed through the ranks serving in a number of areas. In 1997 she was promoted to chief inspector and appointed co-ordinator of child abuse and rape inquiry.
Two years later she was promoted to superintendent and head of the drugs squad. In 2002 she was appointed chief superintendent and given command of Ards District Command.