Many substantial reforms of the RUC will go ahead in the next few months whether the political battle over nationalist support for the new police board is settled or not, according to the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
Special Branch and CID will be merged on April 1st, the force will be reorganised into district divisions, and Sir Ronnie intends to advertise soon for around 200 recruits to start training in September and be fully fledged officers in the new Police Service by early next year.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, has warned that nationalist failure to support the reforms could wreck the entire peace process. But while Sir Ronnie acknowledged that the heart of the reforms was partnership between the police and the community, he said the wheels were already in motion for massive change.
"Patten was not just about policing but about how the police fit within the community and I genuinely respect the sincerity of all the political parties and am working with them to achieve that," he said. "But we as police have a responsibility to the community and we are determined to move ahead rigorously to fulfil our responsibility. We are absolutely committed to change."
One of the SDLP's key demands is the Special Branch CID merger, about which unionists are dubious, but Sir Ronnie pledged that this would go ahead on April 1st and said he believed it would greatly benefit police work.
The SDLP also wants the Gough barracks interrogation centre in Armagh to be closed, and Sir Ronnie said he was working towards this, although it was a matter of getting alternative accommodation.