Young Catholics 'frightened off' police service - report

Republicans faced new pressure today to end intimidation of young Catholics bidding to join Northern Ireland’s police service.

Tom Constantine, the US police chief monitoring an unprecedented programme of reform within the force, claimed potential recruits have been frightened off.

Sinn Féin has refused to endorse the revised policing arrangements because it argues that powers to hold Chief Constable Hugh Orde to account are not strong enough.

But Mr Constantine expressed concern that political leaders have tried to steer supporters away from considering careers as police officers.

“This recommendation has not been fulfilled as there is evidence of a lack of encouragement and some cases reports of actual intimidation,” he said.

The Oversight Commissioner’s sixth independent assessment of moves to implement the Patten blueprint for overhauling the Police Service of Northern Ireland found substantial progress.

But alongside fears that many top candidates may have been threatened out of joining, his report flagged up several other areas of concern. These include:

:: moves to ease a manpower crisis by employing civilians and releasing hundreds more desk-bound officers have made little progress

:: the amalgamation of Special Branch with CID is moving so slowly that the Oversight Commissioner’s remit could run out before the new system is in place

:: new district command structures are not functioning properly because administrative posts have yet to be filled

:: the highest sick leave levels in the UK have yet to be tackled

:: limited progress in removing the trappings of conflict from “fortress-like” police stations

:: failure to develop an early-warning system to identify problem police officers

:: work has yet to begin on a police college

:: demands for officers to receive class-room training on new policing and human rights legislation have yet to be met.

Mr Constantine’s latest and most comprehensive report yet has studied overall progress towards achieving Patten since Autumn last year.

Although it could take up to seven more years to complete all of the recommendations, he reckoned the critical areas will be completed by late 2004.

His cause for optimism was partly based on big moves to get the Policing Board watchdog and Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan’s complaints office up and running.

Their performance has been excellent, he noted.

Efforts to plug the holes in police strength after regular officer numbers plunged to 6,900 compared to Patten’s recommendation for a 7,500 operational force have also been boosted by new recruits of “outstanding quality”.

This has been in spite of the failure of all sides to promote the PSNI as a career path, the commissioner claimed.

“Large numbers of courageous and dedicated young people from every community are volunteering for the police service, in an effort to make Northern Ireland a safer place to live,” he said.

Under the new policing bill the British government has offered Sinn Féin the prospect of letting ex-paramilitary prisoners sit on the 29 local policing boards if the IRA signals its campaign is over.

Regardless of any move by republicans, Mr Constantine insisted these scrutinising bodies urgently need to be up and running with full community support.

Patten’s recommendation that the chief constable’s district commanders should be given greater autonomy has also been plunged into doubt because of staffing problems.

Mr Constantine said: “Devolution of authority is currently on hold for lack of progress in filling a number of administrative positions within District Command Units, including those of business managers and personnel managers.”

And following Mr Orde’s disclosure that efforts to recruit more civilian staff and get more officers on the beat have been hit by a dismal response from Catholics, the commissioner’s report dealt another blow to hopes.

He said: “Although this aspect of the civilianisation programme would release hundreds of officers for patrol duties, there has been very limited progress.”

The thorny issue of re-structuring the controversial Special Branch to make it operate closer with Crime Branch has still to be grasped, Mr Constantine added.

Even though a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary calling for major changes to the anti-terrorist unit has been accepted by the Policing Board, progress has remained painfully slow.

“It has become increasingly obvious that the co-ordination between Special Branch and other units of the Police Service has yet to occur in the manner envisioned,” the commissioner said.

He noted that a probe by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens into allegations of Special Branch collusion with loyalist paramilitary killers will not now be finalised until next April , with his own oversight assessment then delayed until the Autumn.

But the current term of the Oversight Commissioner is due to finish on May 31, next year.

Mr Constantine said: “This effectively means that there could be no oversight review of the plans and strategies of the Police Service to implement the Independent Commission (Patten)’s recommendations for Special Branch.”