Sinn Féin today identified 20 areas of the British government's police reform package which fall short of its community's expectations.
In a document launched by the party's national chairman Mr Mitchel McLaughlin containing its analysis of the reforms, Sinn Féin reaffirmed it would not be taking the two seats it is entitled to on the Policing Board despite the rival nationalist SDLP's decision to join.
Noting the British government had acknowledged its Police Act had fallen short of the model of policing outlined in the Patten Report, the party declared: "The revised implementation plan does not nor could it compensate for the now acknowledged deficiencies in the Police Act.
"It is, therefore, our view that the implementation plan taken in conjunction with the Police Act does not provide the decisive new beginning to policing as promised in the Good Friday Agreement.
" Sinn Féin, therefore, will not endorse these proposals and will not be nominating to the Policing Board."
Among the 20 areas of the plan which Sinn Féin identified as unsatisfactory were:
- The Oath: The party says the plan still does not compel all police officers to take the new human rights oath as recommended by Patten.
- The Chief Constable's Reports to the Policing Board: Republicans claim the Chief Constable can invoke more exceptions than was envisaged in Patten to escape his obligation to report to the 19-member body.
- Board inquiries: The plan places hurdles in the way of the board if it wants to initiate inquiries into police actions including an explicit bar on inquiries into past RUC activities.
- District Policing Partnerships: Sinn Féin is opposed to district police commanders not being made fully accountable to the local policing liaison committees. It is also opposed to the disqualification of former paramilitary prisoners from independent membership of the boards.
- Police Districts: The party notes the Chief Constable can determine the number of police districts and territory they cover despite the Patten Report's recommendation that there should be four district policing partnerships in Belfast, covering the north, south, east and west of the city.
- Time Limit for Complaints to the Police Ombudsman: There is concern that police officers' conduct a year before the Police Act comes into force can only be investigated by the Ombudsman under certain stringent conditions.
- Covert Law Enforcement: Sinn Féin claims the proposals, the fact that the code of practice remains unpublished and the appointment of a former Diplock Court Judge, Lord Justice McDermott, to oversee undercover policing will not inspire nationalist and republican confidence in the accountability mechanisms.
- Demilitarisation: The party condemns the role of the Chief Constable and Special Branch in assessing the security threat which determines the pace at which security is scaled down.
- Plastic Bullets: The replacement of the old plastic bullet with a new version is condemned and Sinn Féin argues it is a contradiction in terms to have a new police service which is reliant on such a lethal weapon.
- Special Branch: The plan does not in republicans' view curtail the "corrosive influence" of Special Branch which is described as a force within a force - claiming it has discretion to suppress evidence and impede criminal prosecutions.
- Police Reserve: Sinn Féin condemns the failure to begin the phasing out of the full-time reserve over three years. It is also dissatisfied with the implementation of plans to expand the part-time reserve and lack of detail on how nationalist and republican recruits will be enticed.
- Name of the Police: The party calls for the removal of the RUC's title in the Police Act, claiming it is a sop to unionists.
PA