COMPOSITION, RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING
OF THE RUC
114. The following are the Committee's summarised
conclusions and recommendations:
1. 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. (Paragraph
7).
2. As the RUC's figures show, without
some radical change in the force it will take a generation to
redress the religious imbalance. (Paragraph 31).
3. A basic aim of policy should be further
to identify and to remove disincentives for Roman Catholics to
join the RUC. (Paragraph 33).
4. As the RUC recognises, many elements
combine to hinder greater recruitment of Roman Catholics. Despite
the uncertainties in the evidence, a picture does emerge: intimidation;
peer group pressure; losing contact with family and friends are
all part of the same social attitude to the RUC — one of
disaffection and alienation among a part of the community in Northern
Ireland. The problem is worsened because of the security implications
regarding the personal safety of Roman Catholic officers. The
causes of low Roman Catholic numbers cannot just be written off
as intimidation, but also must be acknowledged as a symptom of
the lack of acceptance or confidence in the RUC among a significant
part of Northern Ireland's community. (Paragraph 37).
5. There is no clear reason to make a special case
for the RUC by changing its name, without changing the names of
other organisations which are also either "Royal" or
"British". The official symbols associated with the
force are not central to the status of the RUC in the eyes of
the community. They attract the loyalty of many in Northern Ireland.
There is no good reason to change them. (Paragraph 42).
6. As Northern Ireland is an integral part of the
United Kingdom, the Union Flag is the appropriate flag to be flown
over police stations, but the special celebrations of 12 July
are a case apart. The flying of the Union Flag on 12 July outside
police stations is regarded as sectarian by many and should cease.
(Paragraph 44).
7. Membership of organisations such as the loyal orders,
the Ancient Order of Hibernians or other exclusive groups who
generally prohibit membership on religious grounds is incompatible
with membership of a public service organisation, especially the
RUC. New recruits to the RUC should not be permitted to be members
of such organisations. Officers who already belong to them should
register their membership privately[147]
with the management of the RUC so that complaints about any bias
can be seen to be fairly assessed. (Paragraph 51).
8. It is vital that sectarian and sexual harassment
within the RUC be regarded as grave matters. They undoubtedly
have a strong additional disincentive effect on those in under-represented
groups from joining the RUC. The primary responsibility for changing
inappropriate behaviour lies with those in supervisory ranks,
who must be adequately trained to recognise and halt harassment
and ensure proper treatment of members of the public. Senior officers'
performance should be assessed to a considerable degree in the
light of their success in achieving this. (Paragraph 56).
9. Expression of sectarian views when officers deal
with members of the public adds to the difficulty of encouraging
recruitment of officers from a wider range of backgrounds. (Paragraph
57).
10. The existence of a series of unconnected competitions
for recruitment into the RUC is wasteful of resources and of good
applicants who might have passed in another competition but who
were unlucky to be against a good group of candidates. The choice
of competition makes success or failure something of a lottery.
The RUC should consider changing to a linked system of competitions,
which identify those who have passed the requisite standard and
for whom jobs will be found when vacancies occur. (Paragraph 61).
11. As part of the continuing process of examining
working practices to remove disincentives for Roman Catholics,
the RUC should consider ways of speeding up the recruitment process.
(Paragraph 62).
12. Appeals against decisions not to recruit particular
applicants should lie with the Ombudsman, who will be completely
independent of the police. (Paragraph 63).
13. There should be greater civilian contribution
to the recruitment process. (Paragraph 64).
14. Personnel management in the RUC should be run
by a civilian, professional Human Resources Director. (Paragraph
65).
15. Building a balanced and representative police
service is more important than ensuring every officer possesses
every single skill in good measure. The RUC should consider whether
too much weighting is given to the physical competency tests.
(Paragraph 66).
16. Overcoming the imbalance of Roman Catholics and
Protestants will only follow a change in the political background
in Northern Ireland. A lasting peace will mean a reduction of
the security role of the RUC and provide an opportunity to re-cast
the RUC in a mode similar to other police forces. (Paragraph 71).
17. The Secretary of State and the Chief Constable
of the RUC thought that there was no case for creating an exception
to the law and allowing positive discrimination in favour of Roman
Catholic applicants to the RUC over the coming years. We agree
that such a policy would be short sighted and serve only
to create antagonisms rather than remove them. This does not,
however, rule out affirmative, positive action directed at under-represented
groups in order to encourage good candidates to apply to join
the RUC. As the Government's discussion paper, Principles for
Policing in Northern Ireland, states:
"Our vision is:
- of a police service recruited proportionately
across the entire community;
- policing fairly, impartially, efficiently
and effectively, in constructive partnerships with the community
at all levels;
- delivering a service based firmly on principles
of professional integrity, and protection of human rights; and
so;
- unambiguously accepted and actively supported
by the entire community."[148]
To this end, the goal should be established of
bringing the proportion of Roman Catholics serving in the police
force into line with their proportion of the population of Northern
Ireland, within a reasonable time-scale. The RUC should publish
the targets they have agreed with the FEC to increase the proportion
of applications from Catholics within specified time-scales.
(Paragraph 72).
18. Reform of the recruitment system
to remove obstacles to broadly based recruitment is an urgent
necessity. The RUC has done much to ensure scrupulous fairness,
but it must build on its work by opening up the recruitment process
as much as possible to scrutiny. The declared aim of the RUC management
should be to make the force as inclusive as possible. It should
measure its success by creating targeted recruitment policies
with set achievement levels. These levels should be open to adjustment
to reflect the changing composition of society in Northern Ireland.
(Paragraph 75).
19. Some have suggested the continued
importance placed on drill is a symptom of the slow pace of modernisation
of the training system; it is clear that drill has less significance
to the skills required of modern police officers in normal circumstances.
(Paragraph 78).
20. The Community Awareness Programme
has made a useful start towards addressing a need for training
officers in the modern ethos of multiculturalism. Its scope should
be widened, including to the RUC Reserve. (Paragraph 83).
21. Assessments of supervising staff
should include a judgment on how well they develop their colleagues'
expertise in acknowledging community differences. Development
of community awareness should be part of the assessment of serving
officers throughout their careers. (Paragraph 84).
22. If the RUC is to build on the useful
start which the Community Awareness Programme has made then a
continuing process of assessment is vital. This should involve
independent consultants who have not been connected with the original
design of the Programme. (Paragraph 86).
23. The Community Awareness Programme
would benefit from much greater involvement of trainers from outside
the RUC, both in number and in the extent to which they were involved
in its development. The RUC needs to open its training up to greater
outside influence if it is to modernise the outlook of its recruits
and serving officers. Such a move would greatly enhance the public
image of the police. (Paragraph 88).
24. The Community Awareness Programme
must not be a polite but ineffective acknowledgement that there
are differences in society. It should inform every aspect of training
in the RUC. (Paragraph 89).
25. We acknowledge that there are those
who argue the case for a two-tier policing service and this issue
will undoubtedly be further considered by the Independent Commission.
However, whilst accepting that no options should be completely
ruled out, it was clear from our evidence that two-tier policing
arrangements present significant practical problems. (Paragraph
98).
26. Concurrent with the advent of a more
settled political life in Northern Ireland the need for reform
will become manifest. The progress in creating a police service
fully representative of and accountable to the whole of the population
of Northern Ireland will significantly aid the creation of a political
culture in which all sections of the community have confidence
that their legitimate concerns and grievances can be resolved
through the democratic political process. (Paragraph 99).
27. Inspection of the RUC should be regularised
to put the RUC's relationship with Her Majesty's Inspector of
Constabulary on the same statutory footing as elsewhere in the
United Kingdom. (Paragraph 99).
28. If gradual change is possible, any
transition towards a more universally accepted police service
will need to be seen to be effective and as fast as the situation
allows. A significant area where change could be achieved early
is the structure of accountability of the RUC and, in particular,
of the Chief Constable. There are strong arguments in favour of
a move away from direct control of the police by the Secretary
of State towards a structure more closely akin to those in other
parts of the United Kingdom in non-metropolitan areas as soon
as possible. (Paragraph 100).
29. Skilled professional personnel officers
from outside the RUC could enable the force to move towards a
more inclusive and modern system of personnel management. (Paragraph
101).
30. Changes to the system of governance
of the RUC are key in creating greater public confidence in the
RUC. (Paragraph 108).
31. There needs to be absolute clarity
about the extent to which the Chief Constable will be accountable
to the Police Authority. (Paragraph 111).
32. Very careful consideration must be
given to the future of the Police Authority. Its reputation for
effectiveness has been limited and any change in its role and
composition will need to convince sceptics that it is at last
being given real powers and will represent a broad range of opinion
in Northern Ireland. As long as the RUC has a considerable security
function, this will create serious difficulties. (Paragraph 112).
33. A lasting peace will offer many opportunities
for Northern Ireland, but the changes that will result will be
profound. Officers at all ranks, but especially those in senior
positions, will need to display considerable leadership in developing
the role of the RUC in the future. (Paragraph 113).
147 A public Register would expose officers named on
it to extra risk. Back
148
"Principles for Policing in Northern Ireland", p. 20. Back
| 
