The Minister of Justice makes the laws for policing and sets long term goals that the police should try to achieve. The Minister cannot tell the police or the policing bodies what to do and so is unable to answer questions about the things they do. The policing bodies are all independent of the Minister of Justice but the Minister of Justice, NI Policing Board and PSNI all work together to make sure the police can do a good job in keeping everyone safe.
The Minister decides how much money the policing bodies get. The Department of Justice helps the Minister to make sure the policing bodies spend the money well.