Police said they are working to address failings identified by the long-running inquest into the death of Belfast school boy Noah Donohoe.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said officers have invited the legal team supporting Noah’s mother Fiona to meet with them as part of the work.
Last month the inquest jury found there were no police failings that contributed to the 14-year-old’s death.
However, jurors identified a series of subsequent investigative errors by officers that impacted the ability of the jury to reach conclusions on aspects of the long-running case.
It also found that failings by the Department for Infrastructure around its management of access to a water culvert in north Belfast possibly contributed to Noah’s death.
Speaking during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the inquest into the tragic death “brought in sharp focus the devastating loss experienced by Noah’s loved ones”.
“The jury found that Noah died before he was reported missing to police, and that no police errors or inaction contributed to his tragic death,” he said.
“It did, however, identify a number of failings in the police investigation, which impacted upon our ability to provide answers about what happened to little Noah.
“We will look at the findings and apply the learning identified through that inquest process.
“I know mine, the board’s, and everyone’s thoughts will be with Noah’s mom and loved ones.”
Mr Beck described the “profound impact” of Noah’s death on his family and the wider community, as well as on police officers and staff involved in the search and investigation.
In terms of the jury’s recommendations, he said they primarily addressed issues such as CCTV, conduct and strategy around house-to-house inquiries, timeliness of a number of statements, notes recorded by officers, misinterpretations around the location from Noah’s phone, and also some failures to prioritise the photo of the hand on Noah’s phone.
There were also “other gaps around an anonymous call made to police and delays in the identification of the culverts”.
“So those were primarily the issues,” he said. “We will take some time to consider those against work that has taken place across PSNI from 2020.
“I’m not in a position to give you a timeline today in respect of that, but happy to to keep you and our performance board updated in terms of progress in respect of those issues as we move forward.”
He added: “On behalf of the Chief (Constable), I wrote to the legal team representing the family and offered a further meeting or a meeting with with the family.
“Should they decide to take that up, that still remains.”
Read MorePSNI says it is working to ensure Finucane inquiry has access to sensitive files
Cost of policing Drumcree dispute £3m so far, says chief constable
