Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Third Report


COMPOSITION, RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING OF THE RUC

Introduction

1. The Royal Ulster Constabulary has been at the centre of the fight against terrorist violence

over the past thirty years. In the course of their duty the officers of the RUC have borne the brunt of the danger and many have lost their lives or suffered horrific injuries. Although the RUC has served the public with distinctive courage under conditions that have sometimes seemed next to impossible, it has also been the focus of controversy.

2. Whether criticism of the force has been justified or not, it is the case that any settlement in

Northern Ireland involves policing issues. 1998 may signal a turning-point in the political history of Northern Ireland. If a settlement can bring to an end the sustained terrorist campaigns that have dominated life in Northern Ireland, then there will be a significant impact on the role of the police. The duties of the force, its size and many of its characteristics which have arisen because of its security role will change radically.

3. The discussions preceding the Belfast Agreement involved policing policy. As a result of

that Agreement an Independent Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland has been established to make proposals for future policing structures. These proposals will "be designed to ensure that policing arrangements, including composition, recruitment, training, culture, ethos and symbols, are such that in a new approach Northern Ireland has a police service that can enjoy widespread support from, and is seen as an integral part of, the community as a whole."[1] One of this Report's aims is to contribute to the Commission's work by setting out some of the relevant issues raised in evidence.

The Inquiry

4. The inquiry assumed that the basic structure of the RUC would remain the same for the foreseeable future. This is not an assumption shared universally. Because of the history of the RUC and its role in security there have been calls for the force to be completely disbanded and replaced with a new force which can more accurately reflect the composition of Northern Ireland's population. This option is impractical and was ruled out by the Secretary of State when she gave evidence to us.[2] This necessarily limited the scope of the inquiry to examination of the present structure of policing in Northern Ireland.

5. We decided to look at the Composition, Recruitment and Training of the RUC with a view to evaluating the ways in which the RUC recruits and trains its members and how these processes can foster the widest possible community trust in the police force. In Northern Ireland, the overwhelming numerical predominance of Protestant officers over Roman Catholic officers is a major problem politically and socially, but we also bore in mind the need to ensure proper representation of women and of those from ethnic minorities.

6. It is desirable that a police force should reflect the religious, ethnic and gender balance of its community, particularly where there is a specific minority group which regards itself as being inappropriately treated by the police. This is especially important in Northern Ireland, where a significant minority of people traditionally see the RUC as being representative of an alien regime to which they hold no allegiance. The RUC recognises that its composition must reflect society in Northern Ireland and is trying to bring about greater representation among groups which are grossly under-represented, particularly Roman Catholics and women. It has recommended set targets of at least 35 per cent for the proportion of Roman Catholics and female applicants in its 1995-96 Fundamental Review.[3] Mr Ronnie Flanagan, the Chief Constable of the RUC, stressed the importance of this objective.[4]

7. The inquiry looks at the number of Roman Catholics in the RUC, but a major problem is the acceptability of the Royal Ulster Constabulary across the political divide. The Committee has addressed the problem in terms of religion rather than Nationalism and Unionism. The terms Roman Catholic and Nationalist are not synonymous, but there are practical difficulties in measuring what a person's politics are. For all its shortcomings, the use of a religious label does express enough about the clearly defined imbalance in membership of the RUC for it to be useful. In taking this approach we are following the path taken by anti-discrimination legislation in Northern Ireland. Although there is a close association between religious affiliation and political loyalty, the distinction between Roman Catholics and Nationalists is important; it is the political rather than the religious divide which limits the acceptance of any identifiably British institution.

8. The Report contains remarks which may be taken as critical of the RUC. These should be read bearing in mind the political problems within Northern Ireland and the practical limits which terrorist violence had set on reform before now. The Committee acknowledges the immensely difficult task which the RUC has had to carry out over the past thirty years. The force has served the people of Northern Ireland bravely and well in the face of considerable difficulty and danger.

9. The Committee received oral and written evidence from the persons and organizations listed in the contents pages. We are grateful to all those who sent in written submissions or who gave oral evidence.

10. We found the evidence of Mr Colin Smith, CVO, CBE, HM Inspector of Constabulary, particularly useful. He contributed a memorandum which he completed just after his (final) inspection of the RUC, during which he had borne in mind the Committee's inquiry. He provided a valuable comparison of the RUC with other forces.

11. The Committee also spoke to community organizations, including the Committee on the Administration of Justice (a human rights group), North Belfast Community Police Liaison Committee and Mediation Network.

12. At the invitation of the Chief Constable, the Committee visited a training programme at Garnerville Road, Belfast. This provided an opportunity to speak to recruits, watch part of a training session which involved a panel of cross-community representatives and interview informally training providers from within the RUC.

13. The enquiry raised issues connected with the system of policing in Northern Ireland. There were relevant international comparisons with Spain and the Netherlands (referred to in evidence by the Committee on the Administration of Justice).[5] There has been a long term restructuring of the police forces in both jurisdictions. The Committee visited both the central Government authorities in Madrid and the regional authorities in the Basque Country. In Spain the new political dispensation after the death of Franco had included a commitment to reintroduce regional police forces to satisfy traditional demands (and rights) of certain regions in order to cope with problems involving the acceptability of the police. The regional police in the Basque Country are the furthest developed and operate in an area where there has been a long standing terrorist problem. The Committee also spent a day in the Hague examining developments in community policing and the establishment of a town warden system. Progressive, major reform and restructuring in the police have taken place in the Netherlands over the past ten years. This includes the introduction of a regional system of policing after many years of organisation on a municipal level. Although the experience in foreign jurisdictions reflects local circumstances and cannot be copied uncritically, the Committee found its visits to both Spain and the Netherlands of considerable use. It is grateful to all those whom it saw in both countries and appreciates the openness with which they discussed the benefits and drawbacks of their respective systems.[6]

14. During the course of the inquiry there were a number of significant changes affecting the subject under examination. The Police (Northern Ireland) Bill received its Second Reading on Monday 15 December and continued its passage through the House as the Committee was taking evidence.[7] Reforms in the Bill include: the transfer of management control over police resources to the Chief Constable with new arrangements for setting objectives to increase police efficiency and effectiveness; the introduction of mechanisms for allowing contribution from the community into the policy direction of policing; an increase in accountability of the police to the community by way of the Police Authority; and (for the first time in Northern Ireland law) a definition of the duties of a constable. The Bill will apply s.19 of the Constitution Act 1973 to the police and the Police Authority, which expressly prohibits discrimination in the exercise of their functions on the basis of political opinion or religious belief. The Bill, when law, will introduce a new form of Oath which does not require a declaration of loyalty to the Queen. In addition, the Bill will put into statutory effect the recommendations in Dr Maurice Hayes's Report on police complaints published in January 1997 by introducing a new office of Police Ombudsman. The Office of Police Ombudsman (which will replace the Independent Commission for Police Complaints) will be in place by March 1999. The Bill will establish the Northern Ireland Police Service, which includes the RUC, traffic wardens and civilian staff of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland.[8]

15. The Government has also published consultation papers. "Your Voice — Your Choice" was designed to stimulate debate about the role of the Police Authority in Northern Ireland (see below, paragraphs 109ff) and discusses ways of enhancing partnerships between communities and the police. "Principles for Policing in Northern Ireland" was a paper tabled as a discussion paper in the talks process which led up to the Belfast Agreement.

16. The Committee's Specialist Adviser, Dr Keith Bryett of Queen's University, Belfast, drew not only on his academic expertise but also his long practical experience as a serving police officer in Australia. The Committee thanks him for his able assistance.

Composition

Roman Catholics

17. The official establishment of the RUC is 13,456. The actual strength on 28 August 1997 was 12,813 officers in service. These included 8,507 regular officers, 2,923 Full Time Reserve officers and 1,383 Part Time Reserve officers. The number of officers in service at any one time — and therefore the proportion of Roman Catholics and others — fluctuates daily.[9] The percentage of recorded Roman Catholics in the different sections of the RUC is: regular officers 8.23 per cent (697 officers); Full Time Reserve officers 6.91 per cent (203 officers); and Part Time Reserve 4.83 per cent (68). Overall, 7.55 per cent of RUC officers are Roman Catholic (968).[10] The proportion of Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland is over 40 per cent.[11]

18. RUC does not have information about how many Roman Catholic officers were recruited either from forces outside Northern Ireland or came from outside Northern Ireland. The RUC monitors religious affiliation of applicants by the so-called "indirect" method of asking which school they had attended. Schools in Northern Ireland are usually classified as "Roman Catholic", "Protestant" or "mixed". Since schooling outside Northern Ireland bears no relation to perceived religious denomination, applicants from outside Northern Ireland are recorded by the RUC as unclassified in terms of religion. (The RUC is considering asking directly what religion applicants are, in order to monitor more accurately their backgrounds).[12] There are a few applicants to the RUC who were originally born outside Northern Ireland, but not significant numbers of them.[13]

19. The proportion of Roman Catholics in higher ranks in the RUC (as at August 1997) is slightly larger than the proportion overall: 8.02 per cent of Sergeants; 10.08 per cent of Inspectors; 10.24 per cent of Chief Inspectors; 16.55 per cent of Superintendents; 16.67 per cent of Chief Superintendents; and 11.11 per cent of the most senior management ranks[14] above these.[15] With roughly eight per cent of the force being Roman Catholic and over 17 per cent Roman Catholics in promoted ranks, a Roman Catholic is apparently twice as likely to be promoted within the RUC as a Protestant. These proportions are based on very small absolute numbers, but nevertheless it indicates that there is no statistical evidence of bias against promoting Roman Catholics in the RUC.[16] Mr Flanagan assured us that promotion in the Royal Ulster Constabulary operates absolutely on merit. He suggested that the underlying reasons why there should be a disproportionate number of under­represented groups in the higher ranks was that people in such groups make a very firm commitment at the outset and display a determination which tends to carry them through promotion procedures.[17]

20. On the basis of the RUC's own calculations, the time needed to correct the religious imbalance will be considerable. Assuming a steady recruitment of Roman Catholics at a rate of 40 per cent of new intakes (thus mirroring the approximate proportion of Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland at present) it will still take about thirty years before Roman Catholics form 40 per cent of the RUC (ie 2027).[18]

Women

21. The number and percentage of women in the different sections of the RUC are: regular officers 914 (10.79 per cent); Full Time Reserve officers 206 (7.01 per cent); and Part Time Reserve 496 (35.25 per cent). Overall, 1616 (12.61 per cent) of RUC officers are women.[19] There is a smaller proportion of women serving in the RUC than in forces in England and Wales by quite a significant margin.[20]

22. There is a significantly lower number of women in higher ranks, in proportion to their overall number in the force. The proportion of women in the different ranks in the RUC are: 12.64 per cent of Constables; 6.36 per cent of Sergeants; 4.41 per cent of Inspectors; 6.02 per cent of Chief Inspectors; 1.44 per cent of Superintendents; no Chief Superintendents; and none in the most senior management ranks above these.[21]

23. The Chief Constable acknowledged that having no women at the top two levels and low representation in other senior ranks is unacceptable.[22] There are only two at the Superintendent level where their percentage in the force would suggest that they might have been entitled to 15 or 16 places. Similarly, they are under­represented at Chief Inspector, Inspector and Sergeant level.[23]

24. Many women officers serve in the Part Time Reserve, which is not an easy route to promotion to higher ranks. A further reason for the imbalance in the number of women in the senior ranks is that over a lengthy period at the worst of the terrorist violence women were not recruited into the Royal Ulster Constabulary.[24] At that time, women officers were not armed and this prevented recruitment of female officers.[25] This policy no longer obtains, of course, and women officers now carry out the same functions as their male counterparts. The force still feels the effects of this policy in the lack of women officers of adequate seniority to be promoted.[26]

25. The Chief Constable assured us that women officers generally are of the highest calibre and that in the light of the application rate the number of female senior officers will very quickly change. Women officers ­ in other UK forces and in the RUC ­ fare disproportionately well in the promotion procedure. There is some evidence that women, coming into what has been historically considered a male bastion, demonstrate high determination and that this shows itself during promotion procedures.[27]

26. The RUC's figures show that if 50 per cent of recruits were women it would take about 25 years (ie 2024) for the proportion of women officers in the whole of the RUC to reach 45 per cent.[28]

Ethnic minorities

27. The RUC was not required by law to monitor its ethnic composition until 4 August 1997, when the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997 came into force. As a result of this change, the RUC is developing a monitoring system for all applicants and serving members to assist in identifying ethnic grouping. Until the results of that exercise become known the RUC was unable to provide information on the ethnic background of officers.[29] The RUC is aware of the ethnic minority problem elsewhere and is attempting to develop policies which will address the problem as the population of Northern Ireland becomes more diverse.[30]

Conclusions

28. Although the position of officers from ethnic minorities was part of the original focus of the inquiry, the proportion of the population which is of a particular ethnic minority is small. The under-representation of women and Roman Catholics in the RUC is more striking.

29. The problem of the religious imbalance is the most significant in political terms. This is not a new problem: in 1922, following partition of Ireland, the RUC was intended to include one third of its members from the Roman Catholic community, drawn mainly from the Royal Irish Constabulary (which had a high proportion of Roman Catholics in its ranks). That intention has never been fulfilled: the proportion of Roman Catholics in the RUC declined from a high point of 21.1 per cent in 1923.[31] This has resulted in a situation where normal policing difficulties have been exacerbated by a deep, long-held suspicion of the RUC among many Roman Catholics.

30. These circumstances make it very easy for the RUC to be accused of bias and frequently hard for it to defend itself — whatever the merits of any particular case. The Police Authority for Northern Ireland commissioned a Community Attitude Survey in February 1997 which targeted every household in Northern Ireland, as well as interested groups, and invited replies on specific issues.[32] The survey showed that the attitudes of the Roman Catholic and Protestant communities were sharply divided. For example, 72 per cent of Protestants thought that the RUC was doing a fairly good or very good job in their area compared to 44 per cent of Roman Catholics who were of a similar opinion.[33] Protestants tended to rate the performance of the RUC as being better in Northern Ireland as a whole than it was in their local area. The reverse applied to Roman Catholics.[34] Protestants were more likely to believe that their local police treated Protestant and Roman Catholic members of the public equally (82 per cent compared to 44 per cent). Views on other topics (confidence in the RUC; support for change in the police etc.) showed a similar separation.[35]

31. The long standing shortage of Roman Catholic officers in the RUC can only make the task of building understanding with the communities which it polices much harder and encourage a "them and us" mind set to develop both outside and within the force. The result is a deep divide between the police in Northern Ireland and many of those whom the police are there to serve. The need to address this problem is urgent and doing so will be one of the most complex and important tasks facing the Government in the coming years. As the RUC's figures show, without some radical change in the force it will take a generation to redress the religious imbalance.

32. The position of women in the RUC is less central to the political debate about the future governance of Northern Ireland, but it is important nevertheless. We are less sanguine than the Chief Constable about the probability of the situation of women officers improving reasonably rapidly.[36] We accept his personal commitment to equality of opportunity and that he is sincere in his determination to increase the number of women in the force and in particular in the higher ranks. However, it will take a generation of closely focused effort to recruit enough women into the force to reflect the gender composition of society adequately.

33. The changes that will result from a radical improvement in the representative nature of the RUC will create understandable tensions in the force. We sympathise with those officers who regard any such moves as a threat to their jobs or the reputation of their service. The Government and the senior officers of the RUC will need to show considerable leadership if they are to encourage the force to accept that the time has arrived for this problem to be dealt with and that the means to do so will involve speedy change. A basic aim of policy should be further to identify and to remove disincentives for Roman Catholics to join the RUC.


1   Belfast Agreement, Annex A, page 23 (Cm 3883).  Back

2   Q. 798. Back

3   Ev. p. 162. Back

4   Q.1. Back

5   Q. 353; and see "Human Rights on Duty": Principles for better policing - International lessons for Northern Ireland: Eds. Mary O'Rawe and Dr Linda Moore. (Pub. CAJ, 1997). Back

6   For a list of the persons whom the Committee met, see Annex. Back

7   It received its Third Reading on 7 May 1998. At the time of writing, the Bill had not received Royal Assent. Back

8   Ev. p. 214. Back

9   Ev. p. 3: these and other figures relating to composition are based on late 1997 figures (usually for August). Back

10   Ev. p. 3 and 14; pp. 44, 46. Back

11   Ev. p. 282: the figure refers to the economically active part of the population. Back

12   Qq. 8, 40; and see ev. pp. 355, para 7.6 and 364, para 6.6. Back

13   Q. 40; and see ev. pp. 296 (2(ii)), 418 (Q. 4). Back

14   Association of Chief Police Officers ranks. Back

15   Ev. p. 17; but see Q. 23 for more recent figures. Back

16   For HM's comments see ev. p. 165, paragraphs 5.5, 5.6. Back

17   Q. 31. Back

18   Ev. p. 16 - see Table. Back

19   Ev. p. 14. Back

20   Ev. p. 163. Back

21   Ev. p. 17. Back

22   Q. 32. Back

23   Ev. p. 18. Back

24   Q. 32. Back

25   Q. 4. Back

26   Ev. pp. 18, 19. Back

27   Q. 4. Back

28   Ev. p. 16 - see Table. Back

29   Ev. p. 8; and see ev. p. 355, paragraph 7.6. Back

30   Qq. 9, 53. Back

31   Ev. p. 212. Back

32   See Report of the Police Authority for Northern Ireland for 1 July 1995 to 31 March 1997. Back

33   Ibid., p. 37, Table 1. Back

34   Ibid., p. 38. Back

35   Ibid., passim. Back

36   Q. 4. Back


 
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