Reform of the RUC is an inevitable element in the creation of an inclusive, peaceful society in Northern Ireland. In recognising that and in adopting the principal recommendations contained in the Patten Report on policing, the British Government and the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Mr Peter Mandelson, should be commended. The changes announced yesterday will take some years to implement but they signify a new beginning for a divided society.
From next year, the force will take the name the Police Service of Northern Ireland and will recruit new members on a 50/50 basis from the two communities. A new oath will be administered to recruits; a new code of ethics will apply and a new police board will be appointed. District commands will be established, in partnership with local communities, within ten months. And an Oversight Commissioner will be appointed to ensure that decisions are implemented. Legislation to give effect to these changes will be introduced within a matter of months.
The initiative will cause pain and dismay to many people within the unionist community, particularly to those whose family members served - and sometimes died - with the RUC in the 30-year struggle against terrorism. The contribution of the RUC to the preservation of democratic structures and the price paid by way of 302 deaths, were recognised by Mr Mandelson who said the George Cross was a fitting acknowledgement of their sacrifice. In that regard, he sought to dispel the hurt caused by the Patten report which had not fully recognised those contributions.
Discussions have already opened on the monetary terms that will be available to those members of the RUC taking early retirement. The Northern Secretary has suggested that whatever funds are required will be made available, as the force contracts in size from 13,500 to 7,500. But fairness and justice demand that services rendered in the past and sacrifices made should also be recognised. Many RUC widows have been left on poor pensions, struggling to hold families together and to educate children. The Patten report referred to the "penury" of these women and to the "derisory" compensatory sums paid in certain instances of death or injury. It drew attention to the disgraceful quality of some of the prostheses supplied to police amputees. A substantial fund should be set up to deal with these issues.
Ownership of the new police force must be given to both communities if the system is to be acceptable. At present, it is quite unrepresentative with a composition of 88 per cent Protestant and 8 per cent Catholic. The operational demands of the past 30 years and paramilitary activities helped to exaggerate that imbalance. They also led the unionist community to identify closely with the RUC.
Change is uncomfortable, if not painful. And when structural reform involves symbols deeply embedded within the identity of a community, the response can generate public anger and rejection. That unhappiness was reflected by Mr David Trimble and the Ulster Unionist Party. But they recognised that fundamental reform is inevitable, even if they find the detail unpalatable. Others, in the Democratic Unionist Party and the United Kingdom Unionist Party are utilising the issue in an attempt to undermine the executive and destroy the Agreement.
The Agreement envisaged a new beginning for policing in Northern Ireland and spoke of developing a service that would be representative of the community as a whole and, in a peaceful environment, would be routinely unarmed. To achieve that end, the Patten Commission was established. The British Government has now committed itself to implementing the bulk of its recommendations and Mr Mandelson wants reform to take place, no matter what clouds shadow the Agreement.
Reform of the police force in Northern Ireland cannot be implemented without the participation of both communities. The nationalist community will have to contribute fully. The SDLP has already welcomed developments in the context of a new political dispensation for Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein has withheld judgement until it sees the detail of the legislation. Long before that, the IRA will have to demonstrate its commitment to change by responding to the decommissioning process to the satisfaction of General de Chastelain. Political progress, confidence building and police reform are inextricably linked.