The badge for the new police service for Northern Ireland will be decided after consultations with both the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, and the Police Association, which is made up of the force's representative bodies, according to a BBC report.
It claimed to have been shown a copy of the 50-page Police Bill, which is to go to the House of Commons soon, and confirms that the RUC will be known as the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The Bill also sets out plans for a register of interests, requiring members of the force to declare membership of organisations such as the Orange Order, the Royal Black Institution, the Freemasons, and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
While unionists will be angered that the change of name for the RUC is to be accepted, nationalists are critical of apparent variance with the Patten report.
Mr Alban Maginness of the SDLP said the policing proposals in the Patten Report, including those for the badge and flag, were "very clear".
"The aim of this project is to create a police service that will attract and sustain the support of the widest possible section of the community. That is why it is important to implement Patten fully, faithfully and speedily."
Sinn Fein said that if the BBC's report was correct, it appeared that the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, was attempting to dilute the Patten proposals.
Ms Bairbre de Brun said "The British government must realise that nationalists and republicans will not accept or support anything less than the new beginning to policing promised in the Good Friday agreement".
She said the Bill appeared to "cherry-pick" the Patten proposals. The position outlined in the document would further aggravate a situation they were already unhappy with, she said.
Patten was unable to deal with subjects such as emergency legislation, an unarmed police service and plastic bullets. The Bill appeared to show that the Government was not dealing with them but instead was moving in the opposite direction, she added.