Police Service of Northern Ireland
The
Police Service of Northern Ireland (
PSNI;
Irish:
Seirbhís Phóilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann [http://www.psni.police.uk/irish_summary_of_2004_ccs_report3aug-2.doc]) is the
police service that covers
Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the
Royal Ulster Constabulary. The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was an extremely controversial police force, seen by many Catholics as a repressive institution that operated to keep them under control and deny their civil rights; some sectors within the Protestant population in Northern Ireland also despised the RUC but it was the Catholics who were the most alienated from this police force (Weitzer 1995).PSNI was created on Sunday,
November 4 2001, as a result of a Policing Review set up under the
Belfast Agreement. This agreement required the creation of an
Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, which became known as the
Patten Commission after its chairman,
Chris Patten. The political party
Sinn Féin, which represents about a quarter of Northern Ireland voters, has so far refused to endorse the PSNI until Patten's recommendations are "implemented in full". However, the other major
nationalist party in the region, the
SDLP, has joined the Policing Board and says that it is satisfied that the Patten recommendations are being implemented. In the summer of 2005, the SDLP's
Alex Attwood estimated that 80% of Patten's recommendations have been implemented.
The PSNI has a
positive discrimination policy, of recruiting 50% of its officers from a
Roman Catholic background and 50% from a background other than Roman Catholic, in order to reverse the serious religious imbalance that existed in the RUC. The name and symbols of the organisation are designed to avoid alienating either major community. By 2006, 20% of PSNI officers were Catholic, compared with just 8.3% of the old RUC.
[ Catholics now comprise fifth of PSNI officers — The Irish Times newspaper article, 24 July 2006] The badge features the
saltire of
St Patrick, and six symbols representing different and shared traditions: a crown, a harp, a shamrock, scales of justice, a torch and a laurel leaf. It is supervised by the
Northern Ireland Policing Board. The
Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland deals with any complaints regarding the PSNI and investigates any allegations of serious misconduct by police officers. The current Police Ombudsman is
Nuala O'Loan.
In May 2005 the PSNI took delivery of its first helicopter, a
Eurocopter EC 135. The PSNI (and the RUC) relied heavily on
British Army helicopter support during the Troubles and into the 21st century. The helicopter will be used for pursuit, search for missing persons and for managing parades/demonstrations etc.
In September 2005 the PSNI established the
Historical Enquiries Team to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the
Troubles. The service's headquarters are located close to
Cherryvalley, in east
Belfast.
Unlike the majority of Police Forces in the United Kingdom, the PSNI is the only service that covers an enitre regional area to be routinely armed[
1].
The senior officer in charge of the PSNI is its
Chief Constable. To date this position has been held by three people:
* Chief Constable Sir
Ronnie Flanagan OBE, from the formation of the PSNI. Flanagan was previously the Chief Constable of the RUC.
* Acting Chief Constable
Colin Cramphorn, from
April 1 2002. Cramphorn was formerly Flanagan's deputy, and with Flanagan's resignation Cramphorn acted as Chief Constable while the Policing Board sought a permanent replacement. Cramphorn is believed to have turned down the post of Chief Constable due to the political expectations that he was required to fulfil, but which he apparently believed were inappropriate at that time.
* Chief Constable Sir
Hugh Orde OBE, from
29 May 2002. Cramphorn continued as Orde's deputy until September 2002, when he was appointed Chief Constable of
West Yorkshire Police.
Weitzer, Ronald. 1995.
Policing Under Fire: Ethnic Conflict and Police-Community Relations in Northern Ireland (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press).
*
British Police*
UK topics*
Police Service of Northern Ireland*
The badge and flag of the PSNI
