RUC ready and willing to change
The RUC is ready and willing to undergo the transformation in policing, the force said today.
The RUC acknowledged the ‘‘huge programme of change’’ ahead of them.
However, the force stressed: ‘‘Let there be no doubt that the police are ready.
‘‘It’s the way we want to go. In many areas, we are already on the move forward and that process will speed up in the months and years ahead.
‘‘But we need to be realistic too. Tackling change on this scale isn’t a soft, easy or cheap option. These are difficult issues that demand commitment, determination and resources.’’
The RUC’s name will officially change to the Police Service of Northern Ireland this autumn as part of police reforms introduced by the British Government last year after recommendations laid out in the Pattern report.
Catholics have been underrepresented in the RUC and the British Government hopes to attract more into the police.
Adverts to attract recruits from all religious and racial backgrounds and both sexes to the new service have been aired on television and printed in newspapers across the UK.
Almost 8,000 applications have been received from people wishing to be among the first tranche of 240 recruits.
As yet there has been no official endorsement of the new service by the Catholic Church hierarchy or by nationalist political parties like John Hume’s Social Democratic and Labour Party which criticised the reforms for falling short of those put forward by the Patten Commission.
Sinn Fein has also been critical of the new measures and has demanded changes to the legislation before it will endorse them.
While new recruits are being sought, a voluntary severance scheme has also begun with 100 officers a month already starting to leave the RUC.
The RUC stressed it was committed to the new structures of local police accountability and was willing to work openly with local communities through the 29 District Policing Partnerships.
