Abstract
This study examines the changes to policing in Northern Ireland resulting from the report of the Independent Commission on Policing and how those changes affected the police officers who served throughout the period of change. The study concludes in 2009, ten years after the Patten report, which has been shown to be an important time span when implementing institutional change.Starting with some popular assumptions about how the former RUC officers who continued to serve in the new PSNI felt about the changes, this research examines the relationships between the RUC officers and the community which they serve, their new PSNI colleagues, and the PSNI as an organization. In the process, it will be ascertained if those RUC officers were alienated in the process of change and if so, what was the cause of any alienation.
The research considers previous reviews into policing in Northern Ireland as well as an examination of existing literature concerning the policing of divided societies, police reforms and change management. The study uses interviews conducted with serving PSNI officers who had previously been members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and compares their responses against existing findings and assumptions concerning the attitudes of those police officers to the recommendations of the Patten report. An internal Cultural Audit conducted on behalf of the PSNI is also used to contrast and support the findings of this research.
The study concludes that the main source of alienation was due to the poor management of the change process for the police officers and also due to the lack of political momentum concerning policing by the main political parties, so leading some of the police officers to believe they had undergone a major reformation for little benefit.
| Date of Award | Mar 2009 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Arthur Aughey (Supervisor) & HENRY PATTERSON (Supervisor) |
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