Many Catholics too scared to join police - report

Two-thirds of Catholics are too scared to join Northern Ireland’s new police force because of fears of being attacked, a new report revealed today.

The threat of them being ostracised from family and friends could stop half of them signing up, the survey also claimed.

Even though more young officers from the minority community have become recruits in chief constable Hugh Orde’s service, anxieties over being targeted is stemming the flow.

Professor Desmond Rea, chairman of the Policing Board which published the study, hit out at those halting a transformation in the ranks.

He said: “Any modern society that has a sizeable section of its community that feels unable to join its police service because of either fear or intimidation is a terrible indictment of that society.

“The fact that it is our own should come as no surprise, (but) it is totally unacceptable as those immersed in the past are still preventing those who want to join the present.”

The level of resistance emerged after Al Hutchinson, the man overseeing police reforms, urged Sinn Féin to back the new arrangements and transform the process.

Although the number of Catholic officers has risen to 14%, republicans’ continued boycott has severely hampered attempts to end the overwhelming religious imbalance.

In the Community Attitude Survey, carried out by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency between January and December 2003, nearly 1,500 people were interviewed.

Asked for reasons that might deter Catholics from joining the police, 67% of those from that side of the sectarian divide admitted to concerns of an attack on them or their relatives.

That figure was down from 72% in 2002, but Ulster Unionist policing board member Fred Cobain insisted the terror threat was still too great for many.

He said: “It’s sad that we are never going to get an inclusive police service while paramilitarism still exists.

“Despite all the progress that’s been made on policing so many Catholics still fear reprisal from paramilitary bully boys as a reason for not participating.”

Alex Attwood, a nationalist SDLP representative on the board, claimed Catholics were continuing to sign up in the face of the threats.

He said: “These figures confirm what the Oversight Commissioner Al Hutchinson said, that threats, intimidation and discouragement are holding back Patten (reforms).

“Yet despite this, Catholics are voting with their feet by joining in growing numbers.”

Among the other main reasons given by Catholics were other Catholics putting pressure on them not to join (50%) and fear they could not maintain contact with family and friends (46%).

Two-thirds of Catholic respondents also thought police dealt fairly with everyone – up 5% on 2002.

Northern Ireland deputy chief constable Paul Leighton insisted the results were encouraging.

He said: “The survey clearly shows that while we have not yet gained the confidence of everyone we have significantly improved confidence levels across the major communities in Northern Ireland.

“Those who contribute to serving the public by joining the police have so much more to offer than those who would attack or intimidate them or their relatives.

“I applaud those who would dispel fear rather than create it and welcome new recruits from all persuasions.”