The unspoken truth is many don’t actually want a truly transformed PSNI |
THE unspoken truth absent from public discussion regarding the numbers of Catholics in the PSNI is that this is a situation many in the north of Ireland are very happy with and have little difficulty with remaining the same into the future.
Whatever about the religious composition of the police, the reality has always been that the force existed to serve the interests of the British state throughout Ireland prior to partition, and within the newly carved-out Northern Irish state in the century and more since that historic rupture occurred.
That reality consolidated the relationship between the police and political unionism, who had exclusive responsibility for governing the state from partition until the eruption of the conflict from 1969 until the Good Friday Agreement three decades later.
Consequently, changing the composition of the PSNI in 2026, when nationalism and republicanism has been elevated to equal status in the political realm and a parity of esteem culture continues to be developed across society, will have a dramatic impact upon perceptions and attitudes within the police in a manner that some would regard as both unthinkable and undesirable.
In order to address the lingering absence of confidence amongst nationalists and republicans at every level in the police today, the PSNI must be divorced from the toxic legacy of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and be perceived as a policing service reflective in composition and conduct of a deeply divided community which has sharply contrasting perspectives of our past narratives (including regarding policing) and of........