Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Third Special Report

THIRD SPECIAL REPORT

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has agreed to the following Special Report:

    In July 1998, the Committee, in its Third Report of the present Session (HC 337), reported on the Composition, Recruitment and Training of the RUC. The Committee has now received the Secretary of State's response to the Report, the text of which is set out in the Appendix.

APPENDIX

Response of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the Committee's Report on the Composition, Recruitment and Training of the RUC

    This is a time of great change for Northern Ireland; a great deal has happened on the political and security fronts since the Committee began its examination of the composition, recruitment and training of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. While the Committee was engaged in its final deliberations, the Good Friday Agreement was reached and stemming from it, establishment of the Independent Commission on policing for Northern Ireland under the Chairmanship of Mr Chris Patten. It was immediately after those that I received, on behalf of the Government, the Committee's Report. Therefore my response is made with those developments very much in mind.

    The Report, the culmination of a very difficult task undertaken by the Committee against a changing situation, is a comprehensive and helpful contribution to policing in Northern Ireland. It acknowledges the difficulty of achieving meaningful change in this important area. It is a work which I am sure the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland will find timely and a benchmark for opinion, approach and guidance. The Committee has drawn attention in its Report to the terms of reference for the Commission, which included composition, recruitment and training. There will therefore be some overlap and, while the Commission goes about its wider task, it is inevitable that things will not stand still.

Consultation and Follow-up

    When I received the Report I consulted, amongst others, my partners in the tripartite policing structure, the Police Authority and the Chief Constable, both of whom gave a broad welcome to it. Indeed the Committee may already have learned through media coverage of Northern Ireland affairs that the Chief Constable took immediate action on the flying of the Union flag, altering instructions so that it will not be flown on any public holiday including the 12th of July. On another specific recommendation of the Committee, inspection of the RUC by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary has now been put on the same formal footing as applies in the rest of the United Kingdom, as provided in the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998.

Membership of Exclusive Organisations

    One of the matters addressed by the Report concerns membership of organisations such as the Loyal and other orders.

    I fully recognise the sensitivity of this issue and that questions affecting the impartiality of the police and other agencies in the criminal justice system are a matter of public concern. I therefore welcome the contribution to the debate on this issue that the Committee has made. I have also noted developments in England and Wales arising from the recommendations of the Home Affairs Select Committee in its enquiry into "Freemasonry in the Police and the Judiciary" (March 1997).

    I have taken account of statements by the Chief Constable on membership of private societies in the police. Those statements, which welcome a form of registration of membership of private societies, are reflected in the Chief Constable's response to my consultation on the Committee's recommendation. I acknowledge the steps already taken by him in establishing an internal working group to examine this issue. I have also noted the contribution of the Police Authority to this debate and welcome the example which the Authority has set in establishing a publicly available register of the interests of its members and senior officials. Its response to me in this consultation reflects its view that there should be a register of police officers' membership of private societies.

    The Freemasons in their response, said that as a non-political, non-sectarian, multi-denominational organisation members should not be required to register membership. The reply from the Apprentice Boys indicated that there was nothing incompatible about membership of the organisation and membership of the RUC. The Association is therefore opposed to any move which prevents police officers from following their religion and culture.

    Taking into account all the views I have received I have decided to:

• accept the Committee's recommendation that police officers who already belong to organisations such as the Loyal Orders, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Freemasonry should register their membership of such organisations, initially on a voluntary basis. The impartiality of policing is vital and questions affecting it must be addressed in a transparent way;

• accept that there should be a more rigorous system in place for new recruits; but

• reject, at this time, the proposal that membership of organisations mentioned by the Select Committee should, in effect, prevent someone becoming a police officer. The question of a police service which can fairly represent all sections of the community in Northern Ireland is one of the main terms of reference of the Independent Commission on Policing and it would be peremptory to go further in advance of the Commission's findings;

• accept the Committee's recommendation that registration should be on a private basis with RUC management and perhaps other relevant bodies such as the Independent Commission for Police Complaints;
  

• accept that membership of organisations such as the loyal orders, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Freemasonry should be registered. I am less convinced that the Committee's definition of, "other exclusive groups who generally prohibit membership on religion grounds" is an appropriate one in the context of this debate;
  

• accept that the Committee is right to raise the question of membership of private interests in the wider arena of "public service organisations". As with the police, the overriding principle is that those who hold positions of public responsibility should be, and be seen to be, impartial in the discharge of their duties.

    Because of the difficult and complex issues raised by the Committee's recommendation in this area I have decided to establish a working group to co-ordinate implementation and consider further the implications of these proposals. The working group will meet soon and will examine:

• how information relating to the private interests of police officers and others should be gathered and held;
  

• how, if at all, such information should be available publicly;
  

• which societies, bodies or interests should be covered;
  

• which public agencies besides the police should consider schemes for registration;
  

• what, if any, further measures might be required to ensure that a system of registration works.

    In setting up a working group I do not wish to be prescriptive. Different approaches may suit different organisations and it is proper that they be addressed internally in consultation with members and their representatives. The remit of the Independent Commission on Policing, established under the Good Friday Agreement, includes recommending ways in which policing could attract support from all sections of the community in Northern Ireland. Nothing in my response to the Committee's Report on this issue, or indeed any other of the matters raised by the Committee, is intended to constrain the Commission in its task.

Other Recommendations

    The Report offers a wealth of comment, guidance and recommendations in respect of other changes, improvements and adjustments to the recruitment processes, training elements and working environment for consideration. I recognise that all of them are intended to help lead to a balanced RUC, accepted more widely within the community. Some relate to harassment, whether sectarian or sexual, others to the disincentive effects of some aspects of the recruitment processes and designed to remove obstacles to broadly based recruitment.

    The Chief Constable has responded to me in some detail and has assured me that these are priority areas for him. For instance, sectarian and sexual harassment have been the subject of separate surveys in the RUC; booklets, including a harassment policy statement, have been distributed throughout the police, harassment support officers appointed and a confidential helpline set up. Training packages have been developed in conjunction with outside consultants and also cover community awareness, equal opportunities and race relations aspects.

    On recruitment, the Chief Constable is currently looking at whether the system of unconnected competitions can be improved and at how the process can be speeded up. He is also devising a formal appeal procedure for those unsuccessful candidates who appeal and considering how there could be a greater civilian contribution to the recruitment process.

    The Committee does not advocate positive discrimination in favour of Roman Catholics but does not rule out affirmative, positive action to encourage good candidates to apply. The Chief Constable points out that the RUC 1995 Fair Employment Review Report had a goal of making "... every positive effort to increase the number of Roman Catholics in the Royal Ulster Constabulary". A third Fair Employment Review Report is due in Spring 1999. In the meantime, advertisements will continue to include a welcoming statement for Roman Catholics and women, recruiting officers have organised career familiarisation days locally and an interactive careers information package has been prepared for inclusion on the RUC web site. Further goals and timetables will be agreed with the Fair Employment Commission and published by the summer of 1999.

Governance and Accountability

    I wish to mention the issues of governance, accountability and responsibility within the tripartite policing structure. The Report contains one misunderstanding in that, at paragraph 100, the Committee implies "direct control of the police by the Secretary of State". This is not the case, as the provisions of the Police Act (Northern Ireland) 1970, many stemming directly from the recommendations of the enquiry undertaken by Lord Hunt, clearly indicate. It was then that the tripartite policing arrangements were implemented and in the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 those arrangements are strengthened, clarified and improved.

    When addressing the issue of accountability in my original memorandum of evidence and later, in Committee, I explained how I had launched (9 February 1998) the consultation paper "Your Voice Your Choice" which was to stimulate debate, amongst other things, on how to strengthen the Police Authority and its role. This is, as the Committee has pointed out, an important element in the broader policing debate and, I suggest, will be of major importance within the work of the Commission. I have therefore concluded that I should not decide on this until I have the additional benefit of the views of the Commission and those with whom the Government will be consulting on its findings. I do, however, want to take this opportunity to thank all those who responded — with a wide range of views — on this important issue. I have asked that these views be brought to the attention of the Commission.

    I am grateful to Members of the Committee, in undertaking this enquiry, for the significant contribution they have made to the ongoing development in Northern Ireland of a police service which commands widespread support among all its people.

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Prepared 11 November 1998