The senior police commanders who will shape the future of frontline policing in Northern Ireland can be revealed by the Belfast Telegraph today.

The PSNI is set to reduce the number of District Command Units in Northern Ireland from 29 to eight in response to the Review of Public Administration.

Following interviews held late last year, the PSNI has now drawn up a list of nine successful candidates to lead the eight newly enlarged policing areas.

This includes three serving Chief Superintendents and six Superintendents who have been deemed suitable.

Later this month the PSNI will appoint eight of them to the new DCUs. This means that one of the nine commanders will miss out.

Although the commanders have been informed they have been successful, they have not yet been designated particular districts in which they will serve. They will all carry the rank of chief superintendent.

Despite advertising across the UK and Ireland all of the successful candidates are serving PSNI officers.

A PSNI spokesman said: "There have been a number of candidates identified as being suitable for the position of DCU commander, but they have not yet been appointed.

"Eight new DCU commanders will be appointed to head the new planned DCU structure, but they are not expected to take up their posts until January."

However, the Belfast Telegraph understands that officers have already been told the identity of the new DCU commanders.

They are:

• Gary White - currently district commander in north Belfast. Expected to stay in Belfast;

• Henry Irvine - the current east Belfast commander is also set to stay in the city;

• Stephen Grange - currently the south Belfast commander;

• Richard Russell - the Foyle district commander will be expected to stay in the north-west;

• George Hamilton - the only one of the eight new commanders who does not already control a DCU. He will be transferred from CID;

• Alan Todd - currently the PSNI commander in Craigavon;

• Graham Shields - the North Down commander will be expected to stay in Co Down;

• Will Kerr - recently took over as DCU commander in Newtownabbey;

• Michael Skuce - expected to stay in the west of the province, he currently commands Omagh DCU.

When the eight positions were first advertised last year, ACC Roy Toner said: "We envisage that there will be eight of these and we are now looking for officers of the right calibre, vision, professionalism and experience to lead them."

Advertisements for the posts were placed in specialist police publications in both the UK and the Republic.

The announcement on which areas the officers will command is expected later this month.