Patten returns to give verdict on police reforms
The man who oversaw the blueprint for sweeping reforms to the North's police service will today give his assessment on the scale of change.
Mr Patten, the former Hong Kong governor, is expected to deliver his verdict during a keynote speech at Queen’s University in Belfast.
His visit, just two weeks after Sinn Féin representatives made their debut on the province’s policing board, is at the invitation of Northern Office minister Paul Goggins.
One of the key aims of the Patten Commission was to transform the staunchly Protestant old Royal Ulster Constabulary.
When it made its reform recommendations in September 1999, Catholics made up less than 10% of the force.
However, with 50-50 recruitment quotas now in place, the religious balance has undergone significant change.
There are now more than 20% Catholics within the rebranded Police Service of Northern Ireland, and that figure is set to increase further in the coming years.
The Patten reform programme had initially won over the support of the SDLP, the Catholic Church and the Gaelic Athletic Association.
However, Sinn Féin’s opposition to policing continued until earlier this year when the party took the historic decision to support the rule of law in the North as part of a package which led to the restoration of devolved government in May.
Mr Patten is expected to set out how big an advancement towards achieving his overall aim that decision represented.
