He was appointed as Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on 7 November 2023.
[2][3] He served as interim Chief Constable from 12 October 2023 whilst the recruitment process was ongoing to appoint someone permanently.
[9] He also leads Operation Kenova, a series of historical investigations into murders which occurred during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
[10][11] Kenova published its interim report Archived 2024-03-08 at the Wayback Machine outlining its findings on 8 March 2024.
Boutcher was a senior commander in the botched Metropolitan Police operation that saw Jean Charles de Menezes shot dead in London in July 2005.