During the 30 years of the Troubles, policing in Northern Ireland was a major area of division. The Good Friday agreement brought big changes in policing and justice, including the creation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. This replaced the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), 25 years ago on November 4 2001.

At the time of the agreement in 1998, only around 8% of the RUC was Catholic – a community which made up roughly 40% of Northern Ireland’s population. While the IRA’s campaign to target and kill police officers undoubtedly deterred Catholic participation, so did the perceived unionist orientation of the organisation itself.

The agreement resulted in the Independent Commission on Policing, chaired by Conservative politician Chris Patten. This recommended a “new start” – a police service which would be representative and have the confidence of both communities.

Changes included a new name, badge, and an extraordinarily expensive voluntary severance scheme (costing roughly £500 million). A time-limited recruitment strategy involved the appointment of new officers on a controversial 50% Catholic and 50% “other” basis.

Undoubtedly, the organisation has transformed from its RUC inheritance. At the time of writing, about 31% of police officers are Catholic.

Evidence shows 91.5% of people in Northern Ireland feel safe in their community. And nearly three-quarters view the PSNI as effective in keeping areas safe. Around 92% of respondents felt confident contacting the PSNI if needed, and roughly 65% feel the police service represents their community. But importantly, unionists had more confidence in policing (73.8%) and nationalists less so (58.2%). The force also enjoys the backing of all political parties in Northern Ireland.

But policing is still buffeted by politics, both present and past and lower confidence among nationalists is indicative of concerns that remain 25 years after the Patten commission. A series of internal and external controversies have exacerbated this.

The resignation of PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne in 2023 was the result of a contentious and difficult series of events around the policing of a Troubles commemoration during a COVID lockdown. The organisation came as close as it ever has to being in complete crisis. The legacy of the past, concerns in the present and the still-divided Northern Irish community have all played a part.

In addition, Catholic applications are dropping precipitately and some political parties are calling for a “Patten II” amid concerns that the organisation has lost its way.

While the PSNI has been hoping for an application rate of around 50% from Catholics, only 26.7% of applications in a recent recruitment drive were from Catholics. As one young Catholic woman commented wryly during my research: “Sure, that’s not even a pass mark.”

My research with Jess Bonnan-White suggests several ongoing issues. They are organisational, rather than political. The most significant is its relationship – organisationally, historically and psychologically – with its RUC past.

Transformation and challenges

The incorporation of the RUC into the PSNI was a substantive issue when the service was created in 2001. Those who held an affinity to the RUC had argued for the preservation of its legacy. One outcome was that the RUC name was incorporated into the title deeds of the PSNI.

Transformation was obvious in the outward-facing sense – changes to the force’s name, symbols and uniform. But the RUC culture was preserved in the material reality of the police estate, commemorative medals, artefacts in the Newforge sports complex (which is still home to the RUC Athletic Association), and the norms and attitudes within the service.

It is perhaps the culture in which the past is most evident. As former PSNI chief constable George Hamilton said in 2019: “Around 80% of the current police service were never in the RUC, but when you … see the photographs on the walls, when you listen to the stories in the police canteen, you’d think it was the opposite.”

This pairing of outward change and internal continuity has created an inherent tension and a cultural confusion. At times, this has actively hampered the service’s transformation.

Additionally, high-profile inquiries, including into atrocities such as the 1992 Sean Graham bookmaker shop murders, and accusations of RUC collusion, have dogged the PSNI. As the RUC was incorporated into the establishment of the PSNI, it has been difficult to fully separate the old from the new.

Where are we now?

Since it was established, the PSNI has lost two officers to dissident republican violence. It is fortunate not to have lost more. Our research suggests that the murders of Catholic officers Stephen Carroll and Ronan Kerr, and incidents that were foiled have fundamentally altered the trajectory of how “policing with the community” can be implemented.

In returning to a security mindset, the PSNI has been unable to integrate itself authentically into both communities, as envisaged by the Patten reforms. Such attacks have also acted as a major disincentive to Catholic recruits, exacerbating the challenge within the nationalist community.

A culture of fear internally and wariness externally have been compounded by organisational mistakes, such as the enormous 2023 data leak, which saw the names and roles of all staff briefly disclosed online.

For Catholics, policing can still mean alienation from their communities and families. There are also significant concerns internally about psychological safety – and worries that Catholic officers do not feel protected by the organisation.

Other fears – concerns around promotion and advancement, evidence of greater referrals of Catholic officers to professional standards, perceived inadequate transmission of intelligence to allow officers to keep themselves safe, as well as other forms of sectarianism – have come up in my discussions with officers.

Undoubtedly, the organisation faces significant structural problems. Brutal funding cuts, low officer numbers and a policing environment that is still volatile have all reduced the appetite for risk. While some of these challenges are common to policing in both Great Britain and the Irish Republic, the PSNI’s own research suggests that it has been hit much harder by financial cuts than comparative forces.

Despite these challenges, the PSNI has proved extraordinarily resilient. Ironically, the elements that underpinned this resilience – structures, history and organisational memory – have also been why it has struggled to build and maintain the confidence of the Catholic community.

The PSNI may have transformed from its RUC past, but it is still policing a divided society.