NCJ Number
195133
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: 2002 Pages: 110-124
Date Published
2002
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article examines police reform and the political process in Northern Ireland.
Abstract
Attempts to reform the police in Northern Ireland inevitably involve a political dimension and become part of a wider political discussion on political reform. Symbolic issues such as the name and insignia of the new police service dominate the debate. On the question of community policing and accountability, public opinion was in favor of the recommendations of the Patten Report, which put forward a framework for a fundamental reform of policing. This framework held that police service was professional, effective, and efficient, fair and impartial, and free from partisan political control; accountable, both under the law and to the community it serves; representative of the society it polices; and operates within a coherent and cooperative criminal justice system. The resistance to reforms came from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the Police Authority, and probably from within the security establishment in the Northern Ireland Office. The Irish Government was never likely to openly push for the implementation of the community policing aspects of the report. The ending of the 30-year military confrontation presented a unique opportunity not just to reform a police force ill-suited to operating in a post-conflict situation, but to address issues of broader consequence to a rapidly changing and globalized world. The radical proposals of the Patten Report were severely diluted in the Police Act and have not been fully restored in the implementation plan. The current proposals will put structures in place to facilitate community policing structures and practices. These have the potential to transform the nature of policing and act as a model for multi-ethnic and culturally diverse societies elsewhere. 7 notes, 33 references