A member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board has said trainee police officers should be dismissed after allegations 54 students were cheating in exams.
Ulster Unionist Party MLA Ross Hussey expressed concerns about the students progressing to become police officers after the allegations, saying police officers should be "whiter than white".
The students are alleged to have "individually memorised examination questions and collectively shared this information between themselves".
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Mr Ross said that cheating "does not make you a right person to be a police officer."
PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton attended the Policing Board yesterday to discuss the issue and in a statement afterwards said "the student officers had, at best, demonstrated extremely poor judgement".
He has issued written warnings and ordered the students involved to retake the 22-week course.
He said his response was influenced by the "early and fulsome acceptance of responsibility by the students concerned.
"These 54 student officers have been given a final opportunity to prove their integrity, academic ability and high ethical standards of behaviour," he added.
Mr Ross, however, said the only punishment considered should be dismissal.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd is also conducting a PSNI investigation into the matter.
