The 25th anniversary of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is a moment to look back on with "great pride", the Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has said.

He was speaking ahead of a two-day conference in Belfast marking the milestone, which is being attended by 160 delegates.

Boutcher said the years had "not been without challenge".

The PSNI was created out of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) as a new beginning for policing, after work by Lord Patten, a former government minister.

One of the key objectives was to build greater community support for the police and increase Catholic officers.

They remain under-represented in today's PSNI.

In his opening remarks, Boutcher said it is "incumbent on everybody to stop discouragements against joining".

He also repeated that the PSNI faces continued financial challenges, with a £1bn budget which has remained static for years.

"We have got to find a way to support policing by making sure the organisation is funded to do the job that all of us want it to do, to make sure we future proof for the next 25 years."

In a video recording for the opening event, Patten, who was the last UK Governor of Hong Kong, said his work on policing was his most important job.

"I don't think there's anything I feel prouder of having done and I'm glad it has worked as well as it has," he said.

Brendan Mullan, the chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said the anniversary was a "significant milestone".

He said those who worked to establish the PSNI are owed "a huge debt".

The conference, organised by the PSNI and the Policing Board, is being held at Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University.

Entitled 'Foundations And Future: Policing 2026 And Beyond' it will consider progress made over the last 25 years and examine future challenges.