Northern Ireland: The Politics of Policing
Reading
Tonge (2002) Northern Ireland: conflict and change, ch. 7 (includes the recent reforms) Tonge (2005) The new Northern Irish Politics? Ch.10 Mitchell and Wilford ch. 8 (by Weitzer) McGarry and O‟Leary (1999) Policing Northern Ireland Further references on the reading list available online
Sovereignty, legitimacy and policing
“A state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory” The state is a “… political grouping that maintains the legitimate capacity to use force” Max Weber
Security forces embody state sovereignty claiming the exclusive right to the legitimate use of force The legitimacy of the state and of its security forces are inextricably linked
The background
– 1969: the RUC discredited – The Hunt Commission: a failed attempt at reform
– The British army takes over – 1976 onwards: Police primacy restored
– Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Irish Regiment
– 1985: The RUC and the Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Unionist case
– Republicans are to blame for abnormalities in policing
– Catholics won‟t join because of IRA intimidation
– The RUC did an excellent job
„RUC Orangeman‟ Clay figure
The nationalist case
– Recognised the increased professionalisation of the RUC but…
– The RUC had a Unionist ethos
– There was a lack of confidence in the RUC among Catholics – It is not solely due to intimidation that Catholics didn‟t join the RUC – The militarisation of policing
The republican case
– The RUC as combatants – „RUC: 93% Protestant 100% Unionist‟
– Collusion
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
– Police reform an integral part of the Good Friday Agreement
– The Patten Commission – Renaming the RUC as the PSNI – Changing the symbols
– A new Policing Board
– Reducing the size of the police service – Human Rights oath replaces Loyalty oath – Recruiting more Catholics
– District Policing Partnerships
– Will the reforms work ?
PSNI Officer: „Hand-knitted in Ulster‟
Policing reform essential for a resolution of the conflict ?
– An acceptable force can maintain law and order more effectively – A break with the past will free the Police of their reputation as a Unionist force
– Resolution of the problem of policing inseparable from agreed structures of government