The Devolution of Policing in Northern Ireland: Politics and Reform

Abstract

This article looks at the devolution of policing in Northern Ireland. It begins with an outline of the historical context of policing in Northern Ireland and looks at the concept of legitimacy. I examine the motives and rhetoric of those involved in the devolution of policing in Northern Ireland. I also outline the reforms to policing as well as the difficulties faced on the ground. Where appropriate I compare developments in Northern Ireland with other post‐conflict situations. This article is written from the perspective of commending those politicians, police officers and others who have taken risks for peace and whose leadership has led to the devolution of policing in Northern Ireland, which represents a completion of the devolution of powers to Northern Ireland as promised in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. I argue that honesty about the past is key to the process of ‘conflict resolution’– for the police, politicians and paramilitaries.

Northern Ireland's fragile peace: how the Troubles paused and mutated since its official “end” in 1998

“…The organizational and structural changes to the police force in Northern Ireland itself bring the idea of the Troubles being on pause into question. During the Troubles, Northern Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), was a focal point of Republican attention, with over 300 police officers killed (Perry, 2011). Nationalists saw the police as an oppressive and colonial institutution, which was exacerbated by the fact that Catholics only represented 7.5% of RUC staff, compared with their 40% population in Northern Ireland (McGarry and O'Leary, 1999;McGloin, 2003;Perry, 2011).…”

“…During the Troubles, Northern Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), was a focal point of Republican attention, with over 300 police officers killed (Perry, 2011). Nationalists saw the police as an oppressive and colonial institutution, which was exacerbated by the fact that Catholics only represented 7.5% of RUC staff, compared with their 40% population in Northern Ireland (McGarry and O'Leary, 1999;McGloin, 2003;Perry, 2011). This lack of representation for Catholic nationalists, and the fact that the RUC was regarded as "stubbornly male, Protestant, British, Unionist and laddish," led to Lord Scarman concluding in 1972 that the RUC had lost the support of the Catholic population (Cronin, 2001;McKitterick, 1997).…”

“…There is evidence that since 1998, such problems have improved mainly due to the RUC being replaced by the PSNI and making a concerted effort to recruit more Catholic citizens, who now hold 32.13% of jobs in the PSNI compared with 66.60% Protestants (Perry, 2011;Police Service of Northern Ireland, 2018). McGloin (2003) asserts that the creation of the PSNI saw Northern Irish policing move away from colonial policing to the Anglo-Saxon model advocated by Peel in the Metropolitan Act 1829.…”