Il Rapporto Patten
Alcune di queste raccomandazioni erano:
- cambiare nome: da Royal Ulster Constabulary a Northern Ireland Police Service
- un nuovo Policing Board e comitati distrettuali per assicurare una maggiore responsabilità
- creazione dell’ufficio del Police Ombudsman e di un Tribunale delle Lagnanze
- rimuovere i simboli più evidenti della “britannicità” del servizio di polizia
- reclutamento 50-50 tra protestanti e cattolici
- un nuovo codice etico e un nuovo giuramento, compresa una forte enfasi sui diritti umani
- proposte di addestramento, relazioni comunitarie, collaborazione con altri servizi di polizia e reclutamento anche da fuori dell’Irlanda del Nord
- abrogazione dell’articolo 21 da parte della Gaelic Athletic Association, che proibisce ai membri della polizia o dell’esercito in Irlanda del Nord di far parte dell’Associazione
A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland – The Patten Report
On September 9 1999 the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland produced its report, entitled A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland popularly known as the Patten Report, which contained 175 symbolic and practical recommendations. Key recommendations included:
- renaming the Royal Ulster Constabulary the Northern Ireland Police Service;
- a new Policing Board and District Policing Partnership Boards to ensure accountability;
- creation of a Police Ombudsman and a Complaints Tribunal;
- removal of most visible symbols of Britishness from the police service;
- a 50-50 recruitment policy for Catholics and Protestants;
- a new code of ethics and oath of office, including a strong emphasis on human rights;
- an emphasis on community policing and normalisation;
- proposals for training, community liaison, cooperation with other police services, and recruitment from outside Northern Ireland; and
- repeal by the Gaelic Athletic Association of its rule 21, which prohibited members of the police or Army in Northern Ireland from being members of the Association.